Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Bonded Destinies
by lostfan10000
Summary: Much has changed in the Pokemon world. Weather it be from the Bittercold or Temporal Tower or from that Meteor an entire year ago. It may seem like all is calm, but that only means a new journey is about to begin! Join ten different Pokémon as they begin a new journey that combines the story of all three Mystery Dungeon games! For more info look at my profile.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Our story begins in a world of Pokémon. A story of friendship, sacrifice, and most importantly hope.

One year ago on an island named Southern Island for being the last major island until the sea stretches endlessly a human woke up and learned she was turned into a Chikorita.

Her name is Rose and her story is only the first that will be told.

Confused and with no memory of her life as a human she met a young Mudkip who called himself Kip and together they formed a Rescue Team. A team dedicated to assisting those in need.

This was a necessity in these times as the Mystery Dungeons, areas that are unstable and random and where confused Pokémon will fight any who come and trespass on their territory, were becoming more and more frequent.

Many Pokémon were concerned not only about the Mystery Dungeons but the increase in strange natural disasters that were also occurring more frequently at a very alarming rates.

Rose and Kip's Rescue Team named Team LeafWave Rescue did their best wherever they could to help Pokémon in this troubling time.

These two had many adventures together yet the real adventure hadn't even started yet.

One day they learned of an ancient prophecy. A story about a young and foolish human who lived long ago. This human was foolish enough to touch one of the tails of a very powerful Pokémon named Ninetails. This enraged her and she began to put a curse on the human. However the human's companion, a Gardevoir, took the curse for the human and the human used this opportunity to escape instead of help Gardevoir.

Ninetails saw how depressed the Gardevoir was and made a prophecy decreeing that in a thousand years the cruel human shall be reborn as a Pokémon, and will attempt to bring destruction to the world.

When a Gengar learned that Rose was a human he began spreading a rumor claiming that Rose was the human who abandoned Gardevoir and that she will end the world if they don't stop her.

Rose was forced to flee as the other Pokémon would not listen to reason and were convinced that she was to blame for the disasters. However one Pokémon was not so convinced. Kip her loyal companion decided to go into exile along with Rose to find out who the true human in the prophecy is.

When they set out they were met by many challenges yet they did receive help as well. An Absol was willing to listen to them and decided to help them on their journey.

Eventually they learned that Rose was indeed not the human from the prophecy and that the human who abandoned Gardevoir was Gengar all along.

When the other Pokémon were told about this they did not believe this at all until Ninetails herself, being able to live for thousands of years, told them all that there was a second part to the prophecy. Another human would come into the Pokémon world to restore order to the world.

That human was Rose.

Gengar expected anger and hatred to come from Rose, but instead Rose forgave him and told him that he could undo all of his crimes if he helped them stop the disasters he caused.

Gengar had begun the process to awaken the legendary Pokémon Groudon to help him destroy the world. With this knowledge the strongest Rescue Team, Team ACT, set out to stop Groudon.

Rose and Kip were worried that the elite team would not be able to stop Groudon and set out themselves to assist in stopping Groudon. When they arrived they learned that the three members of Team ACT, Alakazam, Charizard, and Tyranitar, were beaten by Groudon and it was now up to Team LeafWave to defeat Groudon.

Despite the overwhelming odds saying that Rose and Kip were doomed they stuck together as a team and defeated Groudon.

But their work was not done as they learned a meteor was going to collide with the world and destroy everything on it. With the help of many Pokémon they met on their journey, Rose and Kip climbed to the top of the Sky Tower to ask Rayquaza, the legendary dragon of the sky, to help them.

Rayquaza said that he would help them but only if they defeated him in battle. Rose and Kip narrowly defeat Rayquaza and he tells them that they passed his test and that he would aid them.

Rayquaza then destroyed the meteor fulfilling Ninetails prophecy that a human would restore order to the land. Since the prophecy was fulfilled Rose had no reason to stay in the world of Pokémon and was going to be returned to the human world but, the feelings of friendship she and Kip shared were so strong it allowed them to remain together in the Pokémon world.

This ends the first story and now the second begins...

Our second story began ten months ago when a Piplup awoke on the shores of Guild Island, an island to the north of Southern Island home to many guilds who focus on exploring the Mystery Dungeons along with aiding those in need.

This Piplup was named Matthew and he had lost all of his memory, except for remembering that his name is Matt and that he was once human. He then met an excited Torchic and by chance they became great friends. They then created an Exploration Team named Team Hope and joined the famous Wigglytuff Guild.

As they explored the land they began to learn that time itself was falling apart and that it was being caused by a thief named Grovyle stealing the Time Gears. Matt, Torchic, and the rest of the Guild decided that they had to do whatever it took to stop the thief from stealing the Time Gears.

The Guild was supported by another great explorer named Dusknoir who planned a trap that he thought would capture Grovyle. That was when Dusknoir revealed a shocking secret.

He and Grovyle were from the future. Grovyle was a notorious fugitive from the future who planned to go back in time to steal the time gears and cause the planet to be paralysed. Dusknoir was sent back in time to stop Grovyle's plans.

When Dusknoir's trap worked he told everyone that he would take Grovyle back to the future with him. He opened a Dimensional hole, a portal that enables time travel, and was about to go through it when he surprisingly grabbed Matt and Torchic and took them with him into the future.

When Matt and Torchic arrived to the future Dusknoir ordered his guards, a group of Sableye to attack Matt and Torchic along with Grovyle.

They barely escaped thanks to Grovyle's help, but they didn't trust him because they had no clue who they could trust. Despite this they followed Grovyle hoping to find a way back to the present.

As they journeyed through the future they saw that the planet was already paralysed and when they asked Grovyle about this he told them that the Planet's Paralysis was not caused by the theft of the time gears, but because Temporal Tower, the home of Dialga the guardian of time, had collapsed causing time to run out of control and plunge the world into darkness. Dialga lost his sense of reasoning and drove himself mad, he became Primal Dialga.

They also learned that Grovyle was in fact trying to prevent the Planet's Paralysis by collecting the Time Gears and using them to prevent Temporal Tower's collapse. Once Temporal Tower was repaired time would return to it's normal patterns. However Primal Dialga sent his strongest servant Dusknoir to stop Grovyle.

When Matt and Torchic learned about this they decided to join Grovyle on his quest to save time. They first needed to return to the present and Grovyle knew how they could. They had to find Celebi a Pokémon who had the ability to travel through time.

When they found her she told them that in order to go to the past they had to find the Passage of Time before Dusknoir did. Unfortunately by the time they got there Dusknoir had prepared another trap.

They were surrounded by Sableye and even worse, Primal Dialga himself was there as well. The fight was hopeless and when Dusknoir told them this Grovyle said it wasn't.

He then revealed that when he went to the past for the first time he had a companion with him come with him, a human. They were separated when they went to the past, but Grovyle hoped that they would be able to complete their mission despite being separated.

Dusknoir just laughed and said that his companion was already found, and that his companion was Matt!

Grovyle did not believe this because his companion was human when they went back in time but then realized that Dusknoir was telling the truth and that Matt was indeed the same Matt that went with him into the past.

Grovyle then gave up hope, but Torchic did not, she quickly thought up a plan that narrowly worked and Grovyle, Torchic, and Matt successfully escaped to the present and Celebi got away safely.

When they arrived they explained to the Guild what they discovered in the future. At first nobody believed it, but as Matt and Torchic explained they slowly began to believe them. At the end of the day the entire Guild agreed that they would help find the Time Gears.

Within a week all five of the Time Gears were found and Matt, Torchic, and Grovyle began their journey to The Hidden Land where the Temporal Tower was located.

When they arrived they were ambushed by Dusknoir and his Sableye. Matt, Torchic, and Grovyle fought hard and barely won the fight. Torchic went to activate a device that could transport them to Temporal Tower and while she was away the defeated Dusknoir told Matt that if he stopped the collapse of Temporal Tower then he, Grovyle, and all the other future Pokémon would be erased from time.

Matt asked Grovyle if this was true and Grovyle said that it was indeed true. Grovyle also told Matt that all of those in the future who wanted to prevent the Planet's Paralysis knew that if they succeeded they would disappear and that they did not care because in the future of darkness they had nothing.

Even Matt knew of this when he still was a human and had his memory and was fully prepared for this, but now he had something that he didn't have in the future. He had a true friend. He then realized that if he completed his task then he would leave Torchic alone in the world. But he decided to continue his journey without telling Torchic knowing that she would be devastated by this news, but at least she would have a bright future to look forward to instead of a dark and hopeless future.

When Matt realized this Dusknoir struck intending to stop Matt and Grovyle no matter what. Grovyle then grabbed Dusknoir and dragged him to a Dimensional Hole that Dusknoir set up. Matt and Torchic were shocked when Grovyle told them that he was going to take Dusknoir back to the future and that he would no longer be able to help them on their journey.

Grovyle then went through the Dimensional Hole with Dusknoir in order to by Torchic and Matt enough time to save Temporal Tower.

Despite being devastated by Grovyle's departure they continued to head to Temporal Tower to finish their mission.

When they reached the top they found Dialga, he was already going mad and had already lost his judgement. He blindly attacked Torchic and Matt who were forced to fight him. Together they were able to defeat Primal Dialga and barely put the Time Gears in place to prevent Temporal Tower from collapsing.

When the Tower stopped collapsing Matt and Torchic saw that Dialga had come to his senses and had regained control of time. They also learned that peace was slowly returning to the land. Dialga thanked the two of them and Matt and Torchic began their journey home.

While they were traveling home Matt suddenly collapsed. When Torchic asked what was wrong Matt confessed that he was going to disappear soon because he was from the future and that now that it was changed, he could no longer exist.

Matt then began to disappear but, before he vanished he told Torchic to go and live her life and to spread their story so that nothing like this ever happened again. Then he vanished.

Torchic was heartbroken. She had lost two good friends, Grovyle and Matt, in the same day. However she did as Matt asked. She returned home and told everyone her story to give hope to the world. She still was sad that her greatest friend disappeared and would never return.

Dialga felt this sorrow and with the help from his master Arceus, the creator of the world, he merged the two timelines of hope and darkness allowing Matt and everyone else in the future to live in this new and bright future.

Matt was able to return to Torchic and they still have many adventures together.

This is where the second story ends.

Our third story took place only four months ago on an island to the northeast of Guild Island known as Continent Island as it is the largest of the known islands and it starts with a human named Dan.

Dan one night had a dream of a small Pokémon being pursued by a large dragon. The small Pokémon then asked Dan to help to help her stop the dragon Pokémon.

Then suddenly Dan found himself in the middle of the woods as a Snivy with no memory of his life as a human.

He then met an Oshawott named Wott who then asked Dan to help him through a Mystery Dungeon so he wouldn't be late to a very important meeting. Since Dan had no clue what else he could do he helped Wott get through the dungeon.

This decision lead to them becoming good friends.

Wott was trying to get to a plot of land he was planning to buy so he could create a Paradise where Pokémon could come and explore, relax, and enjoy themselves. When they arrived Dan was surprised to see that the land Wott bought was mostly barren desert.

Wott however loved the land he bought and had already started plans for building his paradise.

With the help of many Pokémon living in the nearby town named Post Town they were able to begin the construction of their paradise. They also formed a new Exploration Team to help them achieve their dream: Team Paradise

Dan only told Wott about his secret of being a human fearing that the other Pokémon would react negatively toward this news. However he still thought about why he was turned into a Pokémon and he also tried to find his lost memory.

One day a strange Pokémon came into town. He was an Umbreon and badly injured. As he was recovering he told Team Paradise that his partner Espeon was currently on the run and that they had to go and help her.

They quickly searched for her and rescued her from a Purugly and Toxicroak who were indeed after her. When they returned to Post Town Espeon and Umbreon told them that they were on the run because a gang of mean Pokémon were after their research.

Dan and Wott then learned that Espeon and Umbreon were both Dungeon Researchers, explorers who try to find out how Mystery Dungeons work. Umbreon and Espeon were on the brink of a major discovery.

They had learned how to create a Magnagate. A portal that would create a new Mystery Dungeon and allow extremely fast travel. They planned to use this knowledge to travel to the Great Glacier, a Mystery Dungeon that was on the northern parts of the island. No one had ever gotten to the glacier because the area around it was filled with crevices that seemed to shift in a way that made it impossible to reach it.

Umbreon and Espeon planned to use the Magnagate to create a Mystery Dungeon that bypassed the crevasses entirely so they could reach the Glacier and find an object called the Great Crystal, a device that could make objects near it levitate.

Dan, Wott, and the rest of their new team all decided to help Umbreon and Espeon and join them on their journey to the Great Glacier. Umbreon and Espeon were happy to hear this and allowed them to come along.

Within a week they prepared for their journey and set off for the Glacier. Everything was going smoothly until they began to get near the area where they thought the Great Crystal was located. As they got nearer the other Pokémon that were traveling with them began to complain that it was getting harder and harder for them to breath and then they began to faint from this. Even Wott fainted from this but for some reason Dan didn't get affected at all.

Suddenly a gigantic Dragon appeared and revealed himself to be Kyurem, guardian of the Great Glacier. He then used his powers to transport the entire exploration team to the entrance of the glacier and when they arrived the other Pokémon began to recover.

Kyurem then told them that it was forbidden for anyone to go to the Great Crystal because of the fainting spells it makes Pokémon have. He then told them to leave the Glacier and never return.

Umbreon told Kyurem that he and the rest of the explorers would leave as all he wanted to know was if the Great Crystal existed or not.

At that the team left and returned to Paradise where they shared their discoveries, including an interesting device that recorded someone's voice then played it back when it was warmed up. These were called Frisims and those who didn't go to the Great Glacier were impressed with this find.

Slowly life returned to normal in Paradise except for a few changes, Umbreon and Espeon joined Team Paradise as full members, the excitement over the Magnagate calmed down, and it looked like things would return to the way it was.

That is until Dan began to have dreams of that small Pokémon he saw when he first came to the Pokémon world. In one of those dreams it was revealed that the small Pokémon was a Munna, a Pokémon of dreams. She then explained to Dan that the dragon Pokémon he had seen in his first dream was Hydreigon, a three headed Pokémon that intended on destroying everything. When Munna learned of Hydreigon's plans he set out to stop her.

Except she was now trapped and Hydreigon was now pursuing her to make sure his plans succeed. Munna was now forced to send messages through dreams to Dan so he could help her stop Hydreigon's scheme.

The next morning after this dream he told Wott about this and told him that they had to go and rescue her. Wott agreed, but told him that they would have to let the others know before they went off in case something bad happened.

Dan decided that that was a good idea, he also decided that he could no longer keep his past a secret. He told the Pokémon in Team Paradise that he was once a human. He knew they wouldn't believe him at first, but he was surprised to find that they believed him soon after he and Wott explained all they knew.

After they all knew this Umbreon and Espeon told them that they should use a Magnagate to reach Mt. Kilionea, the mountain where Munna told Dan she was hiding in his dreams. Dan and Wott also told everyone that they would go by themselves to avoid the attention of Hydreigon.

Dan and Wott then used a Magnagate to reach Mt. Kilionea and began to search for Munna. They eventually found her, but it had already turned night time and Hydreigon could've been searching for them at that very moment.

Then what happened next was not expected by anyone, not even Dan. Munna suddenly called out into the night and out of nowhere several Pokémon, including the Toxicroak and Purugly that attacked Umbreon and Espeon. Munna then ordered the gang of Pokémon to attack Dan and Wott.

The two barely escaped and even then they were separated and far from home. Then while Dan was running away and keeping an eye out for Wott, Hydreigon appeared in front of Dan and told him to come with him.

When they got to a safe place Hydreigon revealed to Dan that it was actually him that sent the first dream that brought him to the Pokémon world. He then told Dan that Munna was an evil Pokémon who worked for Kyurem and her job was to stop humans from getting to the Great Glacier.

Dan was confused by the amount of information he was being told by Hydreigon and was worried about Wott who still had not turned up. Hydreigon then told the important parts to Dan.

Kyurem is protecting the Bittercold, the collected Pokémon negativity of the world that had taken a physical form. To make sure no one tried to destroy it he had Munna and her gang of Pokémon spread the rumor of the Great Crystal. The Bittercold had the power to overwhelm Pokémon who tried to come near it with it's negativity so no Pokémon would ever be able to reach it.

Hydreigon who is actually a voice of life, a being who defends the world from darkness, needed the help of a human who could get near the Bittercold to destroy it before it could destroy the world. He chose Dan to help the Pokémon world and Dan had to destroy the Bittercold.

Now that Dan knew what he had to do he and Hydreigon found Wott and rescued him from Munna's gang and then hurried back to Post Town to tell the others about what they discovered.

While they were traveling Kyurem ambushed them and defeated Hydreigon. He then told Dan that he would not let him destroy the Bittercold even though it would destroy the world because he had seen the future and had seen the Bittercold destroying the world. He had also lost hope in the world due to the way Pokémon had now started to only think for themselves.

Kyurem then told Dan that many other humans had come to the Pokémon world to stop the Bittercold and that he had defeated each and every one of them. (He did not know of Rose or Matt as they were not on Continent Island when this story happened.) He also said that if he stopped his quest to stop the Bittercold that he would not attack him.

Despite being attacked and injured by Kyurem Dan and Wott still was determined to destroy the Bittercold. Together they returned to Post Town and shared what they learned with the others.

When they heard this they immediately began to think of a plan on how to defeat the Bittercold.

When they were done Umbreon and Espeon opened a Magnagate to the Great Glacier and many of Team Paradise's members joined them for the final battle. Those who stayed behind spread the word about the Bittercold and to bring hope to those who were worried about the world's destruction.

When they arrived at the Great Glacier they were attacked by Munna and her gang of Pokémon and a battle quickly began. During this battle Dan kept trying to convince Munna that what she was doing was wrong but she wouldn't listen.

She and her gang went through many hardships in the world and had lost hope for it and intended to end it to stop their suffering. Dan kept telling Munna that the world was not a lost cause and eventually he convinced her to let them past.

Suddenly a pillar of ice that was weakened during the battle began to fall toward Wott and Dan. Munna saved both of them and almost got crushed by the pillar, but Dan quickly saved her as well.

Despite being saved Dan and Wott were now cut off from the rest of their team and Munna was injured. It was now up to the two to defeat Kyurem, the Bittercold, and save the world.

When Kyurem showed himself he attacked in rage and did all he could to try and stop Dan and Wott from getting through. However Dan and Wott were able to defeat Kyurem not through sheer force, but through their cooperation.

Even though Kyurem was defeated the Bittercold was still strong. As they began to get near it Wott began to grow weak and was not able to fight. Dan had to defeat the Bittercold alone.

At first it seemed impossible. Dan's attacks did no damage to the Bittercold and Dan was also becoming weak from the Bittercold due to it's strength.

When it seemed all hope was lost Dan began to hear voices. They were the voices of everyone who stayed behind. They all were hopeful and this new found hope began to weaken the Bittercold to a state where Dan could attack it. Even Wott's voice affected the power of the Bittercold.

With the help of all of his friends Dan destroyed the Bittercold and he had finished his quest.

However when the Bittercold was destroyed the Great Glacier began to collapse and when all seemed lost Kyurem saved Dan and Wott and took them to Post Town. Then Kyurem left with a new hope in the world.

The Pokémon of Post Town celebrated like never before that night and it seemed like nothing could go wrong ever again.

That night though, Hydreigon appeared to Dan and told him that he had to return to the human world and that if he stayed then the universe would be thrown out of balance if he stayed. He also told Dan that those he met would forget that he existed.

Dan knew that he had to leave the Pokémon world otherwise everything he fought for would fall and he didn't want that to happen even if it meant he would not be remembered.

As he began to leave Hydreigon gave him a Frisim. The Frisim was from Wott who had secretly recorded a message in case Dan ever had to leave. In the recording it had Wott and everyone Dan was friends with telling him goodbye and it helped Dan feel better about leaving the Pokémon world.

After he left Hydreigon was surprised when he learned that Dan's closest friends did not forget him and remembered him perfectly. This made Hydreigon think about ways to bring Dan back.

Eventually he came up with the plan to have Wott, Dan's closest friend, head to the Worldcore to wish for Dan to return. If Dan could stay and not throw the world out of balance then he would be able to return.

When Wott made it to the Worldcore he wished with all his might that Dan would return. When Wott made his wish it seemed that Dan would not be able to return but then Dan appeared and was more than happy to return to the Pokémon world with his greatest friends.

Many things happened after Dan's return including the renaming of Continent Island. The Paradise Wott had started was so famous it lead to the renaming of Paradise Island. Even now that Paradise is still being expanded.

That is the end to the third story. Even after this you may think I've told you everything but I've not. Unfortunately I don't have the time for many of the details but I'm sure you will figure things out.

That is after all what you are known for...

Now is the time to wake up Tom.

Wake up, your story begins...

**Author's note:**

Welcome to the fanfic! Glad to see you found it. Yes this is a Pokémon Mystery Dungeon fic. Before I go any farther I think I should tell you all a few things.

First off I will make sure the fanfic has good quality writing. If you think it isn't let me know in the reviews. (Keep it constructive though.)

Also if you have a question of some sort I do have a forum where I'll answer any questions you have.

Link: myforums/lostfan10000/5289578/

Finally I plan to keep going until this fanfic is finished.

Welcome to the story! I hope you enjoy it.


	2. Chapter 1 A New Journey

A sudden rush of energy hit Tom straight in the chest. He had the sensation that he was falling through nothing.

He heard a voice call off from a distance, "What happened here!?"

"It's him!" Someone else called.

"No that's impossible!" a third voice called.

"Is it?" a fourth voice called. This one though sounded cold and menacing.

Tom had no idea what was happening and before he could figure out what was going on a sudden rush of white light hit him.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon

Bonded Destinies

Chapter 1

A New Journey

"Wha-" Tom sat up with a start and a Starly flew off when he did.

Tom looked around and winced at this awful headache.

"Ah what happened?" He looked around and thought about what happened. He was in some sort of room listening to three voices, what were they saying? Something about rescues, the sky, and some sort of gate. Then some weird shadow seemed to hit him.

_Did that really happen?_ He thought to himself, weird.

He held his hand up to his face but he instead saw a Pikachu's hand instead.

_What the?_ He thought and he looked at himself. What he saw was a Pikachu's body.

He then panicked and ran to a pool of water. When he looked in he saw that he was in fact a fully fledged Pikachu.

He then heard the sound of a snapped twig and then he heard something move… something big.

Then out of nowhere a group of Beedrill came out of nowhere.

_Uh oh,_ Tom backed up into a tree, _They don't look happy._

Then one of them spoke, "How dare you trespass on our territory! You'll pay for this!"

Tom looked around and saw that he was almost completely surrounded. But then he had an idea, _If I'm a Pikachu then that means..._

Tom focused hard and then...

"THUNDERSHOCK!" Jets of lighting surged toward the Beedrill and it was now his chance.

Tom ran through the forest and he kept running until he came out onto a road.

Tom then looked up and down the road and took stock of his situation.

_Ok_, he thought, _So I've turned into a Pikachu and I am now in the middle of nowhere. I have no memory whatsoever, well except that I'm human and that my name is Tom. Also those weird voices that told him about something..._

"Hey are you ok?"

"Wah!" _Cam down_, he told himself, _it's just someone behind you._

He turned around and he saw in front of him an Eevee?

The Eevee then spoke, "Are you ok you look like you were just thrown onto the ground."

"How are you talking?! You're an Eevee." _This is just weird_, Tom thought, _Wait those Beedrill talked to!_

"Yes I'm an Eevee what does that have to do with anything." The Eevee smiled, "You are a very odd Pikachu."

"But I'm not an Pikachu I'm a human-" _Wait why did you just say that?_ He thought.

"I'm sorry did you say that you are a human?" She won't believe me Tom thought. The Eevee then began to walk around him with a look that was like an evaluating and observant look. _I shouldn't have told her she'll obviously not believe me._

"Hmm you're a very odd Pokémon." She said slowly as if making up her mind, "But, I believe you." She then put a smile on her face.

"What, why? Isn't it stupidly unbelievable?"

"Yes but I have this weird thing where I can tell if someone is lying or not. Most of the time without even knowing anything about them first."

"Wow that is very unique. Thank you for believing me." Tom was amazed, not only was this a talking Eevee but it was also a Pokémon that can sense the emotions of others. _What a weird day._

"Real quick", The Eevee asked, "What were you doing in the forest? Don't you know that this is a confirmed Mystery Dungeon?"  
"Uh... well you see I woke up in there with no memory whatsoever of my human life except for my name." _What is a Mystery Dungeon, _Tom thought.

"And your name is?"

"Tom, I think. You said this is a Mystery Dungeon what is that?"

The Eevee appeared to shrug, "That is right if you have no memory then you wouldn't know what that is. It is basically a place where things seem to change and behave weird. They are filled with many dangers like wild Pokémon and deadly traps."

_Why did that sound familiar?, _Tom wondered.

"Do you have anywhere to stay Tom?"

"No uh... What's your name?"

The Eevee smiled, "It's Ve. If you can help me then I can give you a place to stay."

"What do you need help with?" Tom said not knowing what else to say.

"I always wanted to form an exploration team but, I've never had a team to join me. I was wondering if you could join my team?", She then saw Tom's confused face, "Is that ok?"

"It's just why do you want me? You just met me."

Ve looked embarrassed, "Well it's just that for one like I said I can sense many things about a person. I sensed that you have a love for adventure."

_ Adventure? _Tom thought, _Come to think about it I do, it's like a distant memory._

"So how about it?" Ve asked, "Do you want to form a team with me?"

_ Well I don't have anything else to do. _"Sure, I'll join your team."

Ve looked extremely happy, "You will? Really? Oh thank you!" She then looked down the road, "In order to become a team will have to register at Comb Town down the road, I live just outside of it. Come on you'll love it!"

And with that they set off toward Comb Town and as they were walking Tom noticed something, _Hey her right ear is slightly notched at the end, interesting._

Meanwhile on South Island

Rose always loved the morning it was the best time to think. The coolness of the air, the smell of due on the grass, and the sound of the bird Pokémon waking up to the busy day all combined to make a relaxing time. Rose always loved the morning even before she became a Chikorita. She was the type of person who was quiet and reflective always thinking about how her past affected her future.

Even though it was early fall and the air had a slight chill to it she still cherished the beauty of the morning.

She was now thinking about her previous year in this strange world of Pokémon. It began with her first journey with her dear friend Mudkip when he stayed with her even when she was called a monster and was being hunted as a fugitive. He was a good friend even though he was sometimes a bit drastic. Whenever he was in trouble he did sometimes freeze up but when he wanted to he was very determined to win.

She sometimes thought that he helped her because of all the times she saved him. (_The opposite is also true_. Rose laughed.) But she knew that was not the case even after her first adventure with him he still never left her side when they were in trouble and the answer was that it was because they were true friends. They cared for each other with an undying loyalty

"Hey Rose, we have a letter from Guild Island!" Mudkip shouted from outside.

"All the way from there? That is a very long way for a letter to travel!" Rose wondered what they could've gotten from that far away.

Mudkip bought the letter to their table and looked at the address information:

_Addressed to: Rose and Mudkip from Team LeafWave_

_From: The Great Wigglytuff Guil__d_

_Guild Island to South Island_

"Wha- the Wigglytuff?" Mudkip had a look of awe on his face.

"What would the famous explorer have to say to us?"

"Who knows? There is only one way to find out."

They opened up the letter and saw several items in it, a large amount of Poke, a map showing much more area than a standard Wonder Map, and a piece of paper with a long letter written on it:

_Dear Team LeafWave,_

_You have been invited to join us at the first ever Explorer Gathering. Many rescue and explorer teams have been invited and we hope that you join us. We know that it is a long way from here to your island so we have given you a large amount of Poke and have hired a very professional team to help you get to our Guild. We have also given you a new Wonder Map to help you find your way._

_Hope to see you,_

_Wigglytuff_

"Wow, we are invited to meet the Wigglytuff!" Mudkip looked like he was about to faint from amazement.

"Now now Kip let's not get ourselves hurt before we even go." Rose came up with the nickname when they first met. "We should prepare ourselves before Wigglytuff's friends get here."

"Yeah let's start now!"

A few moments later…

"Hello is anyone home!" Someone shouted from the front door.

"Coming", Rose shouted, "Hold on!"

She opened the door and saw three Pokemon waiting for her, a Pidgeotto, a Swellow, and a Staravia all who looked very impressive.

"Hello good to meet you", the Swellow said, "We are Team Airborne and are here to escort you to Guild Island. My name is Talon"

"Yeah and we were told to go as fast as possible," the Staravia said, "sorry we're late. My name is Raptor by the way"

"My name is Hawk." The Pidgeotto said, "In case you were wondering."

_They're late, well they must have very high standards, _Rose thought "Oh no you're not late at all if fact. Hold on. Kip! Wigglytuff's friends are here."

"Well we're not really his friend," Hawk whispered to his team, "we just know him as an acquaintance." The rest of the team laughed to themselves.

Kip came down and was carrying there explorer pack with him.

"Ok ready to go!"

And with that they began their journey to Guild Island.

Elsewhere...

_A lot has happened here in Paradise since I returned. And that was only 2 months ago._

_Me and Wott have been working hard to expand it further and it seems that things may be calming down finally._

Dan had a very, how would you say? Fun experience in the Pokémon world. He was tricked, crushed, frozen, and even then he was deeply saddened when he had to leave it all behind.

It was the worst thing in the world when he had to return to that terrible place he used to call home, in fact he never considered it to be his home. That place in the human world was filled with nothing but evil and cruelty. And he was related to those who lived there.

"GET UP DAN!" Dan sat up and saw his friend Dunsparce in front of him who had a relieved look. "Oh thank goodness I was beginning to worry."

Dan felt extremely dizzy he looked around and saw he was in a cave, "What happened?"

"That outlaw Dustox used sleep powder on you!" Then Dan remembered.

"That's right" He bolt straight up fully aware of what was happening. "Where is he?"

"He got away but we caught his friend. So that's one of the two outlaws in the Bug Duo."

He turned around to see a Beautifly knocked out on the ground and saw his closest friend guarding it.

Wott looked over at him and smiled, "Hey it's good to see you're up, we were beginning to worry about you. Emolga went to go get Quagsire."

Dan frowned, "Looks like our job is done, shame that we couldn't catch Dustox."

A few moments later...

"Thank you for hmm, catching one of the criminals." Quagsire said in his unique way, "Too bad that you couldn't hmmm, catch both of them."

"Well we did our best!", Emolga said in a slightly offended way, "It's not our fault that Dustox was too fast!"

"Don't worry too much about it Emolga." Wott said in his newly found confident voice, "You can't possibly win every time."

"Yeah I guess you're right.", Emolga replied, "Oh well."

"Well since you did half of the job I guess you should get hmm, half of the reward." Quagsire then handed them half of the reward money for the two."

"Thanks", Dan said, "Tomorrow we'll try again."

"Yeah!", His team agreed.

Then two of Dan and Wott's friends came up to them, they were Umbreon and Espeon, they both looked excited.

"We got a long distance letter from Guild Island it was marked urgent." Espeon looked very enthusiastic, "And it's from an old friend of ours."

Dan took the letter to see who it was from:

"From the Wigglytuff Exploration Guild." Dan read, "To be delivered to Team Paradise. Well that is us. Let's take it home to read it."

When they got home they all rushed to the table and opened up the letter to find several things in the envelope. A letter, a good amount of money, and a map. There were also a few other things inside...

Wott was the first to catch on, "Entercards? What do you think those are for?"

Entercards were the key component to a Magnagate a device used to manipulate a Mystery Dungeon and create new ones entirely.

"Maybe the letter will say, this is all very exciting. A letter from the Great Wigglytuff! Awesome."

On the letter someone with very neat handwriting wrote the following,

_Dear Team Paradise,_

_The Wigglytuff Exploration Guild would like to invite you to the first Global Meeting of Explorers and Rescuers. We have included a large amount of money to help you on your travel and even though you live a far way away we have included a way of fast travel that you should be able to use. We hope to see here and have included a new Wonder Map that is much bigger to show you some of the things that we may discuss about. We hope to see you in one week._

_Hope to see you there,_

_Wigglytuff Exploration Guild_

"Well that's interesting." Emolga was studying the map.

"What?" Umbreon asked.

"This wonder map covers a very large amount of area. All four of the main islands!" Emolga looked very impressed.

Dan was amazed, "I didn't know there was anyone that skilled in map making."

"What I am wondering is how do they know how to make Entercards?" Dunsparce asked, "I thought only Umbreon, Espeon, and Keldeo could make those."

"Well Wigglytuff is one of the greatest explorers ever he may have ran across someone who knew how to operate a Magnagate." Umbreon answered, "Me and Espeon ran into him once a while back when we were researching Magnagates."

"Well they want us to go within a week, that could be problematic." Wott pointed out, "With Virizion and Keldeo running an errand they won't be able to join up with us in time. And Hydreigon has gone off and he didn't know when he would get back."

"Well I have a solution." Emolga said, "Two four us can stay and in a week when Keldeo and Virizion show up all four of them can use the Entercards to come to Guild Island as well."

Dan remembered one small detail they were leaving out. "That sounds like a good idea but doesn't someone have to stay behind anyway because of the... Happi laws."

The Happi laws were rules made by an organization called Happi that helped new exploration groups start out. One of them were that when a major expedition occurred one member of the team had to stay behind to keep watch. This same problem had happened a while back when they had their first expedition.

"Hey there's writing on the back of the letter." Wott began to read, "_The Wigglytuff Guild has spoken to the Happi organization and has come to the agreement that you can take all members with you. _Hey that means we can all go!"

Everyone was delighted, Espeon then said, "Me and Umbreon can stay here we have some matters we need to attend to anyway."

Emolga then said, "So we're all in agreement that will leave as soon as possible for Guild Island?"

"Yeah!" Everyone agreed and they all began to make preparations.

Meanwhile on Southern Island

One voice kept telling him the same thing in his mind, _Just keep running, don't stop, don't look back, you know they're gaining._

Notch was an Eevee who was a lone explorer, where others seeked out gold and treasure he searched for information on something only he would care about... his family.

Now his quest had gotten him into trouble. He was being pursued by a gang of bad Pokémon. And they were gaining.

Notch then turned a corner into a canyon, _Hopefully I can lose them here, _he thought desperately.

He didn't even know why they were chasing after him he paid them off and kept his part of deal, _I knew I shouldn't trust them._

He turned a corner to find himself at a dead end. "Oh no! Not good." He said to himself.

He turned and saw that his four pursuers had already caught up to him, each was a Buizel. The lead one stepped up to him.

"Well, well, well, you thought you could escape us: The Buizel Brothers. There is no escape, it's time to pay up."

Notch was outraged, "Last time I checked I didn't owe you anything!"

"Ah, but the fee increased when we learned how valuable that information was." Notch looked for an escape route and the lead Buizel noticed, "Don't think about running, in fact coming into this canyon was a very stupid idea, you do realize there is a river here."

_Stupid, I should've known. _Notch thought.

The lead Buizel smiled, "And don't think about fighting, especially when there are four of us and one of you."

Eevee also smiled, "Well I guess that makes it a fair fight huh?"

"Strong words from a lone Eevee!" A buizel in the back said.

"Than enough words let's finish this! SAND-ATTACK!" Notch sent a cloud of sand and blinded the lead Buizel.

"Why you little-, fine then will take you out with our combo-attack!" Two of the Buizel attacked with Water Gun and the other two attacked with Aqua Jet. They all hit precisely on target. But when the dust cleared Notch was not there.

The leader was confused, "Where did he g-"

"Right behind you!" Then he used, "Quick Attack!"

He lunged at the lead Buizel and when he hit he bounced off and the second he hit the ground he took off running in the opposite direction.

"FOOL! You will never escape the Buizel Brothers!"

_Idiots, _Notch thought to himself with a chuckle_, they think they're so special._

He looked up to see three flying Pokémon in the air. Notch hoped that they were an Exploration Team that would help him.

Meanwhile Kip was looking straight ahead enjoying the view of South Island from this height. _Who knew the air was so clear up here?_

"Hey Talon do you see that down there?" Hawk shouted over the loud noise of the air rushing by them.

"You mean the Eevee and those Buizel chasing after him?" He shouted back.

"Looks like he's in trouble." Raptor said back then he looked to Rose on his back, "You wouldn't mind if we helped him would you?"

"No, of course", She said in a shaky voice, "not besides I think I should get down from this height for a minute. Just don't-"

"Alright boys let's dive!" Then Raptor, Hawk, and Talon all went into a very sharp dive, to Rose's displeasure. Kip on the other hand loved this rush of air, the feeling of going extremely fast, and the thrill of seeing the ground come closer to you. He loved flying.

Notch looked up and to his relief the Exploration Team was coming to his rescue. He could finally stop running. Behind him the four Buizel didn't seem to notice anything. In fact they thought he gave up.

"Finally realised that we were right huh?" One of them shouted.

"No, I just was wondering... how much do you like birds?"

"What are you-"

Raptor shouted, "Rose jump off of me!", and after she did, "CLOSE COMBAT!"

Raptor got right in one of the Buizels face and began to pelt it with slaps from it's wings and scratched it with his claws.

"Ah!" The Buizel shouted, "Not the face!"

Hawk then used Twister to blow two more away from the fight.

The lead Buizel was infuriated, "NO! You won't get away AQUA JET!"

He then formed a column of water around himself and shot toward Notch, but Talon was faster.

"AERIAL ACE!" He shouted and he deflected the Buizel's attack and it barely missed Notch.

Talon then landed next to Notch, "Get on my back!" Notch had no complaints and got on. Then Raptor landed near Rose who then jumped on Raptor's back. Within a few seconds they were once again very high up in the air and were already moving fast.

"Thanks for the help guys!" Notch shouted to all three of Team Airborne.

"No problem", Talon replied, "It's the least we could do for an old friend."

Kip was surprised, "You know this Eevee?"

Hawk looked back at Kip, "Course we do, how could we forget him, a lone Eevee with a _notched _ear. That's where he get's his name. How did you get in trouble this time?"

Notch smiled, "Yup my name's Notch and I wasn't trying to get in trouble this time."

"Of course you weren't." laughed Raptor.

"No I wasn't!" Notch shouted, "I was just trying to get help from them but that turned out to be a mistake. They obviously were getting greedy and tried to cheat an unsuspecting Pokémon."

"You're an unsuspecting Pokémon?" Talon shouted, "I thought you were better than that!"

"Well I'm not but they sure thought I was. That was there big mistake." Notch laughed to himself, "So where are you headed?"

"Guild Island! We're doing a favor for Wigglytuff." Raptor answered.

Notch was impressed, "You guys know Wigglytuff? You must know everyone."

"I was needing to head to Guild Island myself, could you guys take me there as well? I'll pay you of course."

Hawk smiled, "Oh no you don't need to do that we love flying long distances. It makes for a great challenge for us!"

"You guys are the best!" Notch shouted.

"You know we are!" Swellow shouted back.

Everyone, except Rose who was desperately trying to hold on, laughed at Talon's remark.

Meanwhile at Guild Island

The shadow seemed to be staying away as if it was being cautious. It was looking back and forth as if it was lost. Matt tried to call it toward him to try and help it, whatever it was. It didn't seem to hear him so Matt shouted again.

This time it seemed to hear him and was starting to head toward him. But then Matt heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Matt run! It's a trap! Don't trust anything it says!"

Matt turned around to see Grovyle behind him, his old friend from the future. But behind him was... Dusknoir?

"Don't trust it!" Grovyle yelled again. Matt was confused, Dusknoir was an enemy of theirs why was he there.

_It's a trick Dusknoir is up to this_, Matt thought and he started walking toward the shadow.

"NO, DON'T IT'S EVIL! YOU SHOULD KNOW!"

Matt tried to tell Dusknoir to shut up but he remembered he couldn't speak so he just kept walking.

He was almost at the shadow it was a-

"Hey Matt it's morning, time to get up!"

Matt sat up and accidently hit his head on his partner Torchic's.

"Ow, well if you really wanted to sleep in then you could've just told me.", she laughed.

"Sorry just a weird dream. It's actually the first dream I've had in a while." Matt looked around.

Sharpedo Bluff looked like it always did with everything on Torchic's side a complete mess and everything on Matt's side in order. However the sun wasn't even rising yet. A fire was made in the center of their room.

"Why did you wake me up this early?"

"Well you know today is the day the guild is going to-" But before she could finish her sentence Bidoof came down into their base.

"Hey guys Chatot wanted me to check on you to see if you were coming, you know he doesn't like people being late. Yup, yup."

"Yeah, you can tell him that we are getting ready right now.", Matt said with a yawn, "Why does he pick on us by the way?"

Torchic smiled, "You know he does that to everyone?"

"Oh well, hey Bidoof do you know how many people are coming to this meeting?"

"Uh, well I know that there are quite a few coming from all four of the islands. Yup-yup."

"Ah, even Colony island?", Torchic said enthusiastically, "That place is full of much mystery, I hope to see it one day!"

"Who knows the day has only just began." replied Matt. _It's funny to think that just eight months ago she was scared of almost anything. That was the reason she found me on the shore turned into a Piplup. Aww that was an interesting day._

"That would be a wonderful sight wouldn't it? Yup-yup. Anyway I'll see you at the guild! Yup-yup."

Bidoof then left the base as the sun was beginning to rise.

"Well what's our job in all of this by the way?" Matt asked.

"Today we're supposed to meet all the guests and exploration teams at the crossroads. Spinda's Cafe will be packed." Torchic checked there adventure bag, "I'm ready whenever you are."

Matt looked through his own stuff to make sure they were ready, when he was sure he had everything he and Torchic went to the crossroads.

When they got there the sun had just risen and it was still slightly dark out because of the cliff the guild was built into. Yet even though it was this early many Exploration Teams were already coming.

There were so many Pokémon they had never seen before and most of them were very pleased to meet them. They were a little famous for saving the world from the planet's paralysis.

Then they heard someone's voice: "Hello down there!"

Both Matt and Torchic instinctively looked up to see three bird Pokémon coming in for a landing. They recognized them as Team Airborne, an exploration team that was famous for flying long distances. When they landed three other Pokémon got off as well. A Mudkip, a Chikorita, and an Eevee.

The Mudkip and Chikorita stepped forward to greet Matt and Torchic.

"Hello!", The Chikorita said in a cheery voice, "We're Team LeafWave, I'm Rose and this is my partner Kip."

"Hi! It's great to meet you." Kip said happily.

"You're _the_ Team LeafWave?" Matt was amazed, "Didn't you fight Groudon and Rayquaza?"

Rose smiled, "Yes and you must be Team Hope, the team that fought Primal Dialga and Darkrai."

Torchic laughed, "Well it looks like our reputations precede us all."

The Eevee began to walk toward Treasure Town.

"Notch, you're leaving already?" Rose said to Notch.

"Yeah, I have things to do in town.", the Eevee named Notch replied, "See you later."

"That's interesting." Matt said.

"What?" Torchic asked.

"That Eevee had a notched right ear, did you see them?"

Torchic looked curious, "I guess that's where he get's his name?"

Just then it became dark all of the sudden. They all looked around in confusion. Then in the middle of the crossroads a red light appeared. Then it was surrounded by three red rings and a mysterious pattern formed around it. Out of this weird light stepped out four Pokémon.

As the light disappeared Matt asked, "Who are you and what in the world did you just do?"

A Pokémon that looked like a grass snake looked at the group and smiled, "You've must've not ever seen a Magnagate before have you?"

The other Pokémon looked just as strange as the others but Matt knew who they were the second he said _Magnagate,_ "So you must be Team Paradise? It's Dan, Oshawott, Emolga, and Dunsparce isn't it?"

"Yes it is.", Oshawott said, "Oh by the way call me Wott."

Rose looked at Team Paradise, "You're Team Paradise? We've heard so much about you. I remember when your island got renamed to Paradise Island after that Paradise you created."

Wott shown a look of embarrassment, "Well, yeah that was a surprise when they did that and we got to remember that it wouldn't have happen if it weren't for Dan's help."

"But it was your dream in the first place." Dan replied.

Emolga laughed, "And it of course we must remember that it was me and Dunsparce here that made it worth going to."

Kip looked at Team Paradise and smiled, "Seems like there is never a dull moment when you guys are around."

"Isn't that true for all of us?" Matt joked. The entire group laughed at it.

Meanwhile elsewhere...

It had been a week since Tom's first day in the Pokémon world. In that time many things happened. Ve showed Tom around Comb Town which was famous for it's large population of Combee and their leader Vespiquen. Other than that it was a very small town that was mainly focused on serving as a temporary base for explorers.

They were also a registered Explorer Team now. That meant that they could freely explore the surrounding Mystery Dungeons and help others with requests that came in.

It helped for Tom to get his mind off of his dilemma of being a Pokémon, but the more time he helped others and went exploring with Ve the more and more he wondered about where he came from and who he is.

One day when they were looking for a job to take a Sentret came running up to them.

"Excuse me?" The Sentret asked, "Are you an Explorer team?"

"Yes we are." Tom replied, "How can we help you?"

Sentret looked at both of them nervously, "Uh... you see there's this one library that is deep underground called the Grand Library and I would be very glad if you could take me to it."

"Of course we can help you", Ve said cheerfully, "I happen to know where the Grand Library is."

"Great! That would be very helpful. I can go as soon as you're ready.", Sentret looked delighted, "Uh what's your team name?"

Ve and Tom looked at each other, "We don't have one yet, you see we just became a team a couple of days ago."

"Oh that's ok", Sentret said, "It doesn't matter that much."

In a few minutes Ve and Tom were all set to go and all three of them were off for The Grand Library. To get to it they had to go through a long tunnel that was a confirmed Mystery Dungeon.

For the first few minutes it seemed like there wasn't too many obstacles in the way, only a few wild Pokémon that didn't seem that strong either.

All was going well until...

Tom was walking through a room that looked empty but then he heard a click beneath him. Within seconds several Pokémon appeared out of nowhere: Zubats, Geodudes, and several other Pokémon had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"Everyone be careful!", Ve shouted, "We've stumbled across a Monster House!"

All three of them got into the center of the room and they were all prepared for a fight.

The Zubat struck first with Supersonic attacks. The noise was so horrible it was worse than someone scratching a chalkboard. This didn't phase Tom, in fact it gave him an opportunity to attack.

"Thundershock!", He shouted and jets of electricity shot out from him and struck the Zubats but had no effect on the Geodudes.

Ve was next to make a strike, "Tackle!" She shouted as she knocked a Geodude back that was coming close to them.

There fight kept up like this with them sending blows at each other but no progress was being made by either side. Sentret was doing the best he could to try and help but all it could do was use scratch which proved ineffective against rock type Geodudes.

Then out of nowhere a Geodude used Rock Throw and it scored a direct hit on Tom who was blown back from the blow.

"Are you ok Tom?" Ve asked.

"Yeah I think so." Tom replied although he was injured from the attack.

"That's it!" Sentret shouted, "Faint Attack!"

Sentret seemed to disappear then reappear directly behind one Geodude and then he struck it. This seemed to scare the other wild Pokémon and they began to retreat into the dungeon.

"I'm not finished yet! Shadow Ball!" A sphere of dark energy appeared in front of Sentret and then he shot it down toward the fleeing Pokémon.

"Can a Sentret learn those moves?" Tom asked in a confused voice.

Ve was just as confused as Tom, "Not normally. Sentret how did you do that?"

Sentret looked at both of them, "I have something to tell you. I'm not a Sentret." He then leapt into the air and was surrounded in a purple light for an instant then came back down not as a Sentret but as a...

"I am a Zorua. A Pokémon of illusions."

Tom wondered about something, _Zorua? Where did he hear that name before?_

"A Zorua? What were you doing pretending to be a Sentret?" Ve asked.

"Well that's a long story. To sum it up I was being chased by some not-so-pleasant Pokémon and I had to pretend to be a Sentret to hide in plain sight. When we came into this monster house I had to reveal myself to help you. It didn't look like it would end well so I decided that it was worth the risk."

"Why did you need us to come with you on this exploration if you could handle yourself?" Tom asked.

"Well it's because I needed someone I could trust." Zorua replied then he looked at Ve, "I'm surprised you forgot about me Ve. Has it been that long?"

_What?_ Ve thought, _I don't know him! Wait, is he _that _Zorua?_

"Zero?" Ve asked, "Is that you?"

"Yes! You remember!"

Tom looked at both of them, "Ok now I'm really confused! How do you know each other? What am I missing?"

"About a year ago a Zoroark and her son were passing through Comb Town. That Zorua was Zero here. Me and him became friends and we would always share stories every time he and Zoroark visited but in recent months he stopped coming." Ve looked at Zero, "Why did you stop coming by? Did something happen?"

"Actually that is why I came here." Zero replied, "I need help. Zoroark has disappeared. I don't know where she's gone or what to do, so I came here to see if you could help me."

"Wait!" Tom said, "Those Pokémon you said were coming after you. Did they have anything to do with Zoroark's disappearance?"

"I have no clue." Zero said, "They could want anything."

"Ok well where were you when Zoroark disappeared?" Ve asked.

"You mean you'll help me!"

"Of course!" Tom said, "We're an exploration team. Our job is to assist those in need."

"Thank you!" Zero said, "Well in response to your question Ve, we were on Guild Island."

"What!?" Ve said shocked, "What were you doing there? That's extremely far from here."

"Well we were exploring the many dungeons that were there and one night she just, disappeared."

"Well the first thing we should do is get to Guild Island. But that may take us awhile." Ve began thinking.

"Oh don't worry." Zero said, "I have a very quick way." He then pulled out a weird orb out of his bag.

_What is that? _Tom thought but then he seemed to remember, _Another memory?_ He thought, _That orb it's a-_

It seemed to happen in an instant.

First Tom shouted "NO WAIT!"

Then Zero shouted, "Warp Orb-X!"

After that the orb began to glow and suddenly Tom felt the floor around him give way and he was now falling or what seemed to be falling. He felt as though he was just thrown an extremely long distance at top speed, then in an instant it was over.

He landed on the ground softly but what landed on him was the part that hurt. Zero had landed directly on top of Tom.

"Zero if you come with us do me two favors." Tom said.

"What's that?" Zero asked.

"For one try to warn us before you catapult us a great distance, and two try and not land on top of me every time you do."

Zero laughed, "Sorry about that."

"Isn't that true for all of us?" They heard someone say.

They looked to see that they just interrupted a conversation between a few Exploration Teams.

A Mudkip looked at Ve, Zero, and Tom and said, "First Magnagates and now teleporters? What else will this day bring?"

End of Chapter 1


	3. Chapter 2 The Festival

The Festival

"So you're telling me you're all the way from Colony Island!" Wott was astounded, "How could you travel so fast only using a Warp orb?"

"I don't really know." Ve replied, "It was Zero who used it."

All four exploration teams were in Team Hope's base discussing the interesting scene that had occurred. Also Tom and Ve wanted Zero to tell them about his problem.

"I had no clue that there was a method of transportation that's faster and safer than a Magnagate." Dan said calmly as he leaned against the wall.

"The things you don't know could fill a very lengthy book." Zero said trying to insult Dan.

"Oh come on Zero" Tom said, "You said you wanted help and they won't help us when we _insult_ them."

"Oh don't worry," Dan replied, "It takes a lot more to insult me."

Zero glared at all of the Explorer Teams, "I don't want their help. I don't trust them and besides how could they help us."

Rose smiled, "I think you'll be surprised how much we can help you."

"Also you can definitely trust us!" Kip added.

"Yeah, what do you think we are?" Emolga also added, "A bunch of liers."

Zero looked at everyone with a doubtful look, then Ve said, "Go on, I'm sure you can trust these teams. There all heros in their own way."

Zero then sighed and then he began to explain his story of how Zoroark disappeared and how he's been searching for her. He told them what happened up to the part where he warped Ve and Tom to Guild Island.

"Can I see that orb?" Torchic asked.

"Sure, here you go Torch." Zero said reluctantly.

"Uh... call me Torchic." She said as she examined the Warp Orb that was now inactive since it was used.

"Nah, Torch sounds cooler." Zero said snickering, then he used his powers of illusion to appear like Torchic.

Everyone except Dan looked surprised. Torchic looked absolutely offended.

"Don't do that!" She shouted, "Fine you can call me Torch!"

Zero snickered again and then turned back into his normal form.

Rose smiled, "Don't worry Zero will keep an eye and ear out for Zoroark."

"Yeah us too!" said Matt.

"We'll do our best too!" Dunsparce agreed.

"And don't worry your secret's safe with us!" Emolga said.

"Hey-Hey! What secret?" Someone said. Zero quickly changed his appearance to Torchic's again to her displeasure.

When a Corphish came down he was surprised to see a large gathering of Pokémon and a Torchic that looked exactly as his friend.

"Hey-Hey! Torchic you told me you were the only child of your family! You have a sister?" The Corphish asked.

"Uh-uh. NO! I mean... uh." She stuttered.

"This is her cousin." Matt said quickly, "They are always being told that they look alike."

Corphish looked suspicious but then he seemed to have changed his mind, "Anyway... The Guildmaster wanted you to meet a special guest that is here. He also wanted two other teams named uh.. Team LeafWave and Team Paradise to be here."

"Yeah that's us!" Rose and Kip said simultaneously.

"We're team Paradise." Wott said.

"Hey-Hey! Well that is convenient. Well here he is!"

A lone Pokémon with an iron body stepped down into the base and Corphish left to take care of his own work, then the Pokémon said:

"Hello, my name is Aron and I've heard so much about all of you."

Something was familiar about that voice to Tom. _Maybe a new memory?_ He thought to himself.

"I am a researcher from an Organization known as Project ShadowFlame."

"Isn't that an underground group that tries to find ways to make Mystery Dungeons more stable?" Dan asked.

"How would you know that?" Aron asked.

"I know a couple of people who were invited to join."

"Aw. Yes, that would explain it. Yes we are a very secretive group." He gave Dan a suspicious look, "We don't want our knowledge to fall into the wrong hands."

"Uh. Should we go?" Tom asked.

"Who are you?" Aron asked.

"Uh... I'm Tom, this is Ve. We're a newly formed Explorer Team." He thought it would be best to not give away Zero to this guy. There was something odd about him.

"Oh... new friendly friends?" They heard someone upstairs say. Then the great Wigglytuff stepped down into the base as well.

_If anyone else comes down here I'll have to expand our base._ Matt thought.

"Good Afternoon Guildmaster." Torch said to Wigglytuff, "What brings you here?"

"I wanted to introduce you to Aron here who needed our help. Also he wanted to meet the three teams that all saved the world."

"It's an honor to meet the famous Pokémon who fulfilled Ninetails' prophecy, stopped the Planet's Paralysis, and stopped the Bittercold." Aron said as he looked at Team LeafWave, Team Hope, and Team Paradise respectively.

"Well it's all part of the job." Matt said while nodding his head.

"So Guildmaster what does he need help with?" Kip asked.

They all looked expectantly at the Guildmaster and found that he was asleep with his eyes wide open!

"Not again!" Torchic said as she was lightly pecking Wigglytuff's face, "He always does this!"

"Don't worry, I can tell you." Aron said, "After this whole meeting of explorers is done I need help trying to get to an ancient ruin that belonged to the first civilization of explorers!"

"Why can't you get your ShadowFlame organization to help you?" Wott asked.

"Well you see. It's because we need your teams specifically for your expertise and because..." He looked at Ve, Tom, and Zero who was still pretending to be Torch.

"Can we trust these three? After all one of them is a Zorua."

"What?" Everyone yelled.

Torchic ran next to Zero, "No he... she isn't! She is my cousin!"

Aron smiled, "Come now, you think I can't tell a Zorua when I see one? That is a nice illusion though."

"Well I guess there's no sense hiding it." Zero then turned back into his normal form.

"Ok so he is a Zorua." Torch said, "But you can trust them all. Right guys."

Rose stepped forward, "Yes we can. They're an Exploration Team like all of us."

Aron looked back at Tom, Ve, and Zero and said, "If you say so."

Then he continued, "We need your teams specifically because of you three." He pointed at Rose, Matt, and Dan.

Matt looked at Aron, "Why would you need us?"

"Because, you three are human."

"WHAT!" Everyone shouted louder.

"How did you find out?" Dan asked.

"Who told you?" Torch shouted.

"Wait!" Kip yelled, "I knew about Rose but, Dan and Matt, the famous explorers, are human as well?"

Aron laughed slightly, "You didn't know? Well I guess this _is _a surprise."

Dan looked surprised, "I knew that there were more humans who became Pokémon, but I thought they were all defeated by Kyurem."

"Well some were." Aron explained, "But I have reason to believe that those humans were never real in the first place."

"What do you mean?" Wott asked, "Do you mean that they were illusions or something?"

"Yes, I believe they were. I guess that they were placed there to prevent Kyurem from finding the real humans."

_I really should tell them, _Tom thought to himself, _But is it really a good idea?_

"Also I'm pretty sure that the Guild would never tell anyone about Matt's past." Aron added, "Am I right?"

"Yes." Matt said, "Everyone at the Guild promised not to tell. Mainly because of what happened to Rose and Kip."

"Yeah, even after Ninetail's prophecy was finished we had to still lay low." Kip added, "We still were visited by old friends, like Absol, but that was only once or twice."

"So why do you need a human?" Ve asked to everyone's surprise.

"Well that is because, we think we found a piece of the Bittercold." Aron said in a casual tone.

Dan was the first to react, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that it still exists. Did you think you stopped all the negativity in the world?"

"We did a very good job though." Dunsparce said.

"Which is why we need to get there quickly so it doesn't become a problem again. Now you see why we need a human?"

The Bittercold had the ability to overwhelm any Pokémon that came near it with extreme negativity. Humans however were able to resist this power more than Pokémon.

"Well I think you should all know something!" Ve said, "Tom here... he... he's a..." She looked over at Tom who nodded, "He is also a human."

Everyone including Dan was shocked to hear this news.

"Well this day get's better and better." Matt said.

Tom gave a weak smile as the focus was now suddenly on him, "Uh..."

Suddenly to Tom's relief Wigglytuff woke up, "Ah! Now that introductions are over let us go and enjoy the festival!"

"Good idea." Aron agreed, "Do think about what I said. And Tom, your Exploration Team is invited too." He then left without another word. He and Wigglytuff left for the festival.

"Well that guy seemed nice." Matt said sarcastically.

"He's still better than some people I've met in Paradise." Wott said with a sigh.

"What I want to know is how did he know that we are human?" Rose said with a thoughtful look.

Dan looked at Tom, "When this festival is over I want to meet with everyone again, especially you three."

"Ok well we have places to be." Tom said eager to get out of the base, "We'll see you later then. Come on guys."

Tom, Ve, and Zero left and as they left Zero once again appeared like Torch. Torch opened her mouth to say something but decided that it wasn't worth it.

As they were walking through Treasure Town another Eevee bumped into Ve.

"Oh, pardon me." He said and then he hurried off.

"You ok Ve?" Tom asked.

Ve shrugged, "Yeah I'm fine it's just... I sensed something familiar about that Pokémon."

With that they continued walking down Treasure Town.

Matt and Torchic (who was now being called Torch thanks to Zero) were going through Treasure Town and meeting all the teams that came from far and wide to their small town.

A Rescue Team from Paradise Island, an Exploration Team from Colony Island, a lone explorer from the other side of Guild Island, even an entire Guild from South Island was present. At the Sharpedo bluff, where Team Hope's base was at, you could see many tents scattered here and there on the beach and in the forest nearby.

Neither of them had ever seen so many Pokémon in one place ever.

"How many people did Guildmaster Wigglytuff invite?" Matt asked.

"He basically had anyone who could carry a message invite any explorer team that wanted to come." She responded. They both laughed at the coment.

It was now evening and the sun was beginning to set. At night the place was expected to get even more lively than what it was right now. The shops in Treasure Town were making money left and right and Spinda's cafe was packed as well.

"Torch, I mean Torchic-" Matt began.

"It's ok. Zero was kind of right about how it sounds cooler." Torch said with a smile.

"Ok then, besides I was tempted to call you that sometimes." Matt said.

They both laughed, "Anyway." Matt continued, "This morning something strange happened."

"I'll say with all these Pokémon coming in through Magnagates and teleporting and-"

"No that's not what the strangest part was." Matt said.

"What?" Torch said.

"You see last night I had a strange dream." Matt then told Torch about the dream with the weird shadow, Grovyle, and Dusknoir.

"Didn't you say that a month ago you had a bunch of dreams like this?" Torch asked.

"Yeah." Matt said. "They were weird and only brief glimpses, but they were about Grovyle and the future. Also there was some sort of message that said, 'We are alive!'"

"I think that was a message sent by Grovyle to tell us that they didn't disappear like they thought they would." Torch said.

"Yeah but Dusknoir was not there for most of the time but, it seemed like he was at the same time. It's weird."

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Someone behind them said, "but I was wondering if you could help me?"

They both turned to see an Eevee standing there.

"Sure, Notch isn't it?" Matt replied.

"Yeah. I was wondering if you could tell me if you saw another Eevee?" Notch asked.

"Yes we did!" Torch replied, "She went down the main road in Treasure Town." She then noticed Notch's pattern on his ear, "Hey! She had the same pattern on her ear as well!"

"Thank you for your help." Notch said as he walked away.

"You sure got excited." Matt said with a smile.

"Oh shut up!" Torchic laughed, "You know how much I like to help people."

Treasure Town was actually a pretty neat place in Dan's opinion. Built near the Ocean on what he considered to be a beautiful land. It reminded him of Post Town. Just built near the Ocean.

As he was walking he smelled something disgusting, then another Pokémon walked straight into him and knocked him down onto the ground.

"Watch where you're going! Cha-haw." The Pokémon said.

One of his companions said, "Yeah! Don't make us have to fight you. Whoa-ho-ho!"

They began to walk away and as they were Dan got up and without looking at them he shouted, "Aren't you going to apologize?"

"Chaw-ha-ha! What? You want _me_ to apologize for _you_ running into me?"

"No." Dan replied now looking straight at a Skuntank, a Koffing, and a Zubat, "I want you to apologize for being rude."

"He-he-he!" Laughed the Zubat, "Sounds like someone wants a fight!"

"I don't want to make it inconvenient for anyone here. But maybe I will fight you. Just to teach you some manners."

"Chaw-ha! You and what army?" The Skuntank spat back.

"THIS ONE!" Wott shouted as he, Dunsparce, and Emolga came out of the crowd, that was now backing up for fear of a fight.

"Chaw-ha-ha!" Laughed Skuntank, "Even though we both know who would win this fight, I regret that I must inform you that my team and I have other places to be."

They began to walk away and Dan asked, "What is your team?"

"Team Skull! And don't forget it! Chaw-ha-ha!" The Skuntank shouted back.

"Have you ever seen a more self centered group of idiots!?" Emolga asked.

"I have." An Eevee said as he came out of the crowd, "I've seen several. They're all the same."

Team Paradise looked at the Eevee as he came closer and then Dan remembered who he was, "Notch? Is that you?" He asked with a smile.

"So it seems that you do remember random travelers." Notch said with his own smile.

"Wait?" Emolga said, "Am I missing something?"

"Ah yes that's right," Wott said, "One day when you and Dunsparce were off running errands. This Eevee was visiting the Senora's restaurant."

The Senora is how everyone in Post Town referred to Swana the owner of the restaurant and inn that was in Post Town.

"Yes I was trying to work out a treasure map that I was investigating and Wott and Dan here were kind enough to help me. That was what? A month ago?"

"Yeah it was." Dan replied, "Did you ever find it?"

"No, it turned out to be a dead end." Notch replied.

"What were you looking for?" Dunsparce asked.

"A treasure lost for a thousand years. The Outcaste orb." Notch answered with a look of determination in his eye, "It's been lost so long that no one even has a clear idea of what it does. I'm going to find it, it's been my dream for the longest time."

"Hey you'll never believe what we saw today." Wott told Notch, "We saw another Eevee that had a that interesting pattern on her right ear." He pointed towards Notch's right ear.

"What?!" He asked excitedly, "Where did she go?"

"Uh... she went towards the Crossroads last time we saw her." Wott said

"Could it really be?" Notch thought aloud, "I have to go!" He said and he ran toward the Crossroads.

"Uh... what did I say?" Wott asked.

"I think," Dan replied, "you just made his day much better."

They watched as Notch disappeared into the crowd at great speed.

Rose and Kip were enjoying themselves in Spinda's Cafe which was almost completely packed with visitors.

"Gee, it's lucky we got in before things got crowded." Kip said as he looked around at the crowd.

Rose didn't hear Kip as the crowd was really loud and she was focused on something else, _So there are more people like me, _she thought, _I wonder what happened to them._

"Hey Rose, you're zoning out... again." Kip said.

"Huh- oh, sorry." Rose smiled, "I was just thinking about that offer Aron gave us."

"Oh." Kip replied, "Did that guy give you the creeps or what?"

"Yeah, he did seem a little odd." Rose agreed, "Have you ever heard of ShadowFlame?"

"Well Pokémon have studied the Mystery Dungeons ever since they first appeared, Dungeon Researchers they're called, but I've never heard of someone trying to stabilize one."

"I wonder what that even means." Rose added.

"Maybe make it less random?" Kip suggested.

"I don't know." Rose answered, "So should we help him?"

"I think so, I mean this is the Bittercold we're talking about. It almost destroyed Paradise Island entirely." KIp said in a serious tone.

"Yeah, it would be best to stop this before it gets out of hand."

Then someone came running down the stairs of the shop and when he stopped he was out of breath. It was an Eevee

"Hey!" Kip told Rose, "Is that Notch?"

Rose looked at the entrance to see Notch looking around the place as if he was searching for someone.

"Wonder what he's up to." Rose said.

Notch saw Rose and Kip and went over to them.

"Excuse me." He began, "Have any of you seen another Eevee in here with an ear like mine."

He showed them his right ear.

"Ah!" Rose remembered, "Yes we did see one. Her name is Ve and she was in an Exploration Team with a Pikachu and a Z-," She remembered how Zero liked his privacy, "a Torchic."

"Which way did they go?" Notch asked with a desperate look on his face.

"I think they're looking for a place to stay the night. You could try the forest road." Rose answered, "Is something wrong?"

"Maybe." Notch answered, "I've got to go. Here hold this for safekeeping."

He then handed an Orb to Kip and Rose

"Wait what is this?!" Kip shouted

But it was too late, Notch already ran out of the cafe.

"Boy that Eevee was fast." Said the Wynaut in charge of the recycle station.

"THAT'S RIGHT!" said his partner Wobbuffet.

"Should we go too?" Rose asked.

"Of course!" Kip rapidly got up and went out Rose directly behind him.

Notch was running down the road as fast as he could.

_If this is who I think it is..._ He thought, _Hopefully this isn't too crazy._

As he was running the ground beneath him collapsed and Notch found himself in a dark cave.

"Hold it right there!" Someone from the darkness called. As he said this the hole in the roof of the cave closed itself, "You know what we want... Notch."

"I'm sorry, but there are a lot of people who don't like me," Notch retorted, "and it's hard to figure out what you want if I can't see you."

"Very well then, we'll show you who we are." The voice replied.

Four torches were ignited at the corners of the cave to show that it was filled with a Sandslash, two Trapinchs, and a Kabutops.

"Do you know what we want now?" the Sandslash asked.

"Yeah... and I hate to disappoint you but, I don't have it. I never had it."

"That is a lie!" The Kabutops shouted, "We know you have what we seek."

"And who told you that?" Notch said trying to hide a smug smile.

"You did!" The Kabutops said with frustration, "Don't make us fight you for it! You're outnumbered!"

_Why do they always think that matters? _Notch thought, "That seems to be true. I guess I should make it even."

He then pulled out an orb and threw it onto the ground, "Summon Orb ignite!" The orb then began to appear like it caught on fire and then it suddenly exploded...

Rose and Kip were looking for Notch fearing that something might have happened.

"Why was Notch looking for Ve and why did Notch give us this orb?" Kip asked Rose.

"Who knows?" Rose replied as they both walked down the road.

Suddenly the orb began to glow and Kip then took it out of the bag.

"What is it doing?!" He was shocked.

"I don't know." Rose said as she examined it.

The orb then caught on fire and Rose and Kip stepped back from it. Then the orb exploded in a bright light and suddenly Rose and Kip were now in a dark cave lit by four torches and in front of them they saw Notch and a group of very threatening Pokémon.

"Notch what's going on?!" Kip shouted.

"I'll explain in a minute! Could you help me out first?" He shouted back.

A Kabutops looked at Rose and Kip, "Ah... so he invited two other wimps here to help him? Pathetic!"

"Look out!" Rose shouted as Kabutops lunged at Kip who easily dodged.

"Good luck winning with that!" Kip shouted, "Take this Water Gun!" Kip then sprayed water gun and scored a direct hit on Kabutops.

Notch was focused on the Sandslash.

"And to think... if you just helped us you wouldn't be in this mess!" Sandslash taunted.

"Really?" Notch replied, "You would just let me walk away knowing you have something so important?"

Notch then dodged a Slash attack and was hanging back, _I can't attack directly those spikes on his back will just hit me. Unless..._

Notch used Double Team and while the Sandslash was looking at each of the fakes Notch made his move.

"Iron Tail!" He shouted and his tail became a silver color and also became extremely tough. He slammed his tail onto Sandslash's back, completely unharmed by the many spikes on his back.

Meanwhile the two Trapinchs were moving in on Rose but she was ready.

"Razor Leaf!" She shouted and several leaves shot out from her and made contact with the Trapinchs.

They both fought back with crunch. Rose dodged the first one but the second Trapinch hit her in the leg. Rose winced at the pain but it wasn't that bad of a wound.

She finished the second Trapinch with Razor Leaf.

The Kabutops was becoming more and more frustrated as the battle went on, "That's it!" He shouted, "Trapinch use Sand Tomb to corner them!"

Two whirlpools of sand opened up right next to Notch, Kip, and Rose. They were now trapped against a wall with no clear path to escape.

"Kabutops!" Sandslash yelled, "Stop this we need him!"

"NO!" He shouted, "He has escaped us too many times! HYPER BEAM!"

A glowing light began to form in front of Kabutops as he charged up the attack.

"Get behind me." Kip told Rose and Notch, "I have an idea."

Kabutops shot the Hyper Beam straight at the three and the area they were standing at exploded as dust and sand clouded the room.

When the dust settled Kip, Notch, and Rose emerged perfectly unharmed behind a shield of green light.

"What, how?" Kabutops roared.

"Ha!" Kip laughed, "You would think a Kabutops would recognize the move Protect when he saw it."

The green shield faded as did the Sand tomb attack.

The Trapinch got ready to attack but then Sandslash suddenly yelled, "Stop now!", and the two Trapinchs stopped dead in their tracks.

"We have new orders you three. Warp Orb-X!" He shouted and they all teleported out of the cave but not before the Kabutops made an ugly face at Notch.

A hole at the end of the cave opened up and all three of them found themselves on the beach near Treasure Town.

"Oh..." Notch saw Roses bruise on her leg, "You're hurt."

Rose looked at her injured leg and said, "Oh, no that's not really bad, besides there is still some sunlight out." The sun was just about to go down over the horizon.

The leaf on Rose began to glow and suddenly the bruise began to fade and then disappear completely.

"Ah... That's Synthesis isn't it?" Notch asked.

"Yeah it is." Rose confirmed, "Hey Kip what's wrong?"

Kip shrugged, "That orb the Sandslash used to teleport out of that cave... it was similar to Zero's."

"Was it?" Rose asked, "I didn't get a good look at it."

"Who is Zero?" Notch asked.

Kip looked at Rose, "Do you think it's ok to tell him?"

"Sure, I don't think Zero would mind." Rose replied.

"Zero is a Zorua. He came to Guild Island in order to find his friend... or master, he didn't really say, but he's looking for a Zoroark that he's very close to. He also used an Orb like the ones they used."

"Also that's another thing." Rose interrupted, "How did you get us into that cave?"

"Oh..." Notch replied, "It was with this orb that I learned how to make. You use it to summon your team to you, sort of like a Rollcall Orb, but it can be used over very great distances. However it only works if you have another orb that your team has."

"So you gave this orb to us in case you got in trouble?" Rose asked as she took out the orb.

"Uh... yeah. Sorry about that." He replied.

"Ah, don't worry." Kip told Notch, "It's our job to help Pokémon in danger, no matter how we get there. Real quick what did they want?"

"They wanted something that I don't have and the person who may have it is in danger right now." Notch said.

"If someone is in trouble I think we can help you." Kip said.

"By the way down in that cave you sure did do a good job in battle." Rose said, "Would you like to join our team?"

Notch was surprised by this, "I've never been invited onto a team before. I am mainly a lone explorer."

"Rose is right though." Kip added, "You were really good in that battle, we could use someone like you on our team."

Notch thought about this for a while, _They could help me. But I don't want them to get caught up in my problems._

Rose seemed to see his uncertainty on Notch's face, "Hey don't worry." She said, "We are an experienced team."

_True, this is the team that fulfilled Ninetails prophecy, and if they're after me then it is safe,_ He thought,"Ok you've convinced me, I'll join."

"Great!" Kip said with a wide smile on his face, "Do you have an explorer badge?"

"Yes it's right here." He showed them his badge.

Rose pulled out her badge from Kip's bag and held it up to Notch's, the two badges glowed and then returned to their normal state, "There we go. Welcome to the team."

"HEY DOWN THERE!" Someone shouted.

The three members of Team BlueRescue turned to see a small figure gliding down toward them from Sharpedo Bluff, it was Emolga from Team Paradise.

He landed right next to the three and said, "Dan and Wott wanted me to find you. They wants to meet back at Team Hope's base and discuss Aron's offer."

"Sure, do Tom, Zero, and Ve know?" asked Rose.

"Dan and Wott are looking for them." Emolga replied.

"Great will be there." Kip said, "Come on Notch will tell you about things on the way!"

"Ok." Notch said as he followed his new friends back into town.

End of Chapter 2


	4. Chapter 3 The Forming of Team Destiny

The Forming of Team Destiny

Dan wasn't the type of person to be surprised. He only remembered one point in his life where surprises were all over the place and that was his first adventure as a Pokémon. Today was one of those rare days when he had a real twist in his day.

Wott was also wondering about the events of the day as well, _All those other humans that came to this world and got defeated by Kyurem were fake? Who and why would someone make human illusions, I'll have to ask Hydreigon._

Matt, and Dan were walking down the road looking for Tom, Ve, and Zero. Dan wanted to ask Tom a few questions in private and he also wanted to gather all four of the teams together to discuss Aron's offer. He already sent Emolga and Dunsparce to find the other two teams.

The sun had just set and they found them on the outskirts of town looking for a place to spend the night.

"Hey you three!" Wott shouted trying to get their attention.

They all saw Team Paradise coming up to them and Wott noticed Zero had taken the form of another Pokémon. He was now disguised as a Growlithe.

"What do you need?" Tom asked.

"I wanted to ask you a few questions." Dan said politely, "In private if that is ok."

Tom and Ve exchanged looks and Tom nodded.

"Ok let's go over there." He pointed to a small clearing.

Both Tom and Dan walked over to that clearing and vanished from view.

"What does Dan want?" Ve asked.

"He mainly wants to see if Tom really is human." Wott replied.

"I know for a fact Tom isn't a liar!" Ve said.

"Hey, I believe you." Wott held his hands up to show his sincerity, "It's just that, Dan never trusts anyone until he knows he can."

The clearing that Dan and Tom went into lead to a cliff where they could both see the nearby forest covered in yellow and gold as Autumn was now here.

"So what did you want to ask me?" Tom said.

"I wanted to know as much as you do about your human life." Dan replied.

"Well you see. I don't know anything at all besides my name and the fact that I am human." Tom said, "Did that happen to you?"

"Yes. I forgot about my entire life." Dan seemed to appear to be thinking about something for a split second but then he became serious again, "Do you remember anything before you woke up here in this world?"

"Well I do remember someone talking to me." Tom shrugged, "Also my memory slowly comes back to me little by little. Mostly when I find something familiar."

"What's come back so far?" Dan asked.

"Zero for one, he keeps reminding me of... something. I'm not sure yet."

"These voices you said you heard what did they say?" Dan was very interested in these voices.

"I can't quite remember." Tom thought hard, _Why does Dan want to know about this? Wait... Dan is a human like me... I already knew this... how... wait that's it!_

"The voice was telling me about you!" Tom suddenly realized, "It told me about you, and Matt, and Rose, and about everything you've done on your own separate journeys when you first became Pokémon."

"Hm... So they were telling you about recent events." Dan made up his mind, _He is telling the truth. That or he is the best liar in the world. _"Ok I believe you Tom, you probably came here for a very important reason."

"Uh... ok, good then I guess." Dan began to walk away but before he left Tom asked, "Did your memory ever come back?"

Dan stopped and looked back with a smile only a Snivy could make, "Yes. Even though I had some things I wanted to forget."

Before Tom could ask anymore questions Dan walked off. Tom looked at the view of the forest, the leaves were colored gold from autumn.

_It's so beautiful. Dan's probably right, I am here for an important reason. I wonder what that is._

Tom went back to rejoin his team.

When he got back Wott and Dan had already left.

"What did he want?" Ve asked.

"I'm not entirely sure." Tom replied, "But I don't think he entirely trusts me."

"According to Wott that happens a lot." Zero Said.

"I wouldn't worry about it." Said Ve, "He doesn't know everything."

"We should probably head back to Team Hope's base like they wanted us to." Said Zero.

They then hurried off toward the base.

By the time they got back Team Hope and Team Paradise were already there and they were just waiting for Team LeafWave to sun had finally set and the stars were fully visible.

When Tom, Ve, and Zero entered the base Tom avoided eye contact with Dan, but tried to act natural.

In a few minutes Team LeafWave and Emolga joined them along with them was...

"Notch?" Ve said shocked.

"Ve?" Notch replied.

They seemed to stare at eachother for an eternity, then Ve ran up and gave Notch a great hug.

"I thought I'd never see you again!" She shouted.

"Wait." Kip said, "Notch, you know Ve?"

"Yes!" He said with a voice that sounded like he was going to cry, "She is my younger sister."

"What?!" Torch shouted.

"Well. That was unexpected." Matt said with shocked face.

"Why didn't you ever tell me you had a brother!" Zero said as he turned back into his normal form.

"Because I didn't know where he was or even if he was still alive!" Ve said still locked in a hug with her brother.

"Oh my, that's so great that you've met up with each other!" Dunsparce said as he jumped up and down excitedly.

Tom saw that everyone including Dan was happy, _Maybe Dan isn't that bad, _Tom thought.

"What happened? After we were separated?" Notch asked.

"How _did_ you get separated?" Wott asked.

"It was many years ago." Notch answered, "Ve and I were alone in the world with no real parents, but we had each other and we took care of each other. But one day on Colony Island a riot in the market in Comb town broke out. Apparently some criminals were causing a large fight."

"We were both separated in the crowd." Ve continued in a shaky voice, "I couldn't find Notch and the longer we were separated the more nervous I got. Eventually I had to give up my search. But I hoped that he was ok."

"I also kept looking for you." Notch told Ve, "However I somehow got caught on Southern Island and I could never find out where you wound up at."

"We'll have to catch up on what happened sometime but, it's great that we can see each other again." Ve said finally letting go of Notch.

"Yeah." Notch said, "So what did you want to tell us Dan?"

"Well since you weren't here earlier I think you should know that an Aron came here earlier asking all four of our teams to help him with the exploration of an old ruin." Dan replied.

"Have you ever heard of Project ShadowFlame?" Rose asked.

"No." Notch responded, "I'll assume that is who this Aron works for."

"Yes." Wott said, "Also he wanted us to come because of a shard of the Bittercold is believed to be there."

"Wait, you mean the thing that almost destroyed Paradise?" Notch asked.

"Yes." Wott replied, "So he wants us to help him destroy it."

"Why would he want you specifically?" Notch asked.

"Well if you won't tell anyone we'll let you know." Matt replied.

"Sure you can trust me." Notch smiled, "Besides I'm now a member of LeafWave so I will be sworn to secrecy."

"Ok then," Dan begun, "Remember when you came to Paradise and I told you that I joined the team two months ago?"

"Yes." Notch said.

"Well that was a lie." Dan said, "I was in Team Paradise since the beginning and I was there when the Bittercold was destroyed. In fact I destroyed it."

Notch had a perplexed look on his face, "No, Wott was the one who destroyed it. Everyone knows."

"Well that was kind of a cover story." Wott said looking slightly embarrassed, "You see, only a human can get near the Bittercold and Dan is human. He came to this world as a Pokémon to destroy it."

"After his mission was done he had to go back to the human world." Dunsparce continued, "And when he left the memory of him was wiped from everyone except from his closest friends."

"So when Dan returned, we kind of figured that we shouldn't tell anyone about him being human because Pokémon may not really react well to that." Emolga finished.

"Good thinking." Kip said, "We all remember what happened to me and Rose."

"So Dan is a human?" Notch asked, "I remember hearing that Rose is a human during that," He paused, "Incident a year ago, and which one of you is a human?" He asked Matt and Torch.

"I am." Matt replied.

"So either Zero or Tom is a human as well." Notch said.

Tom raised his hand, "You're reacting well to this."

"Not really." Notch replied, "My head hurts."

"Yeah, that was my reaction." Torch sighed, "I almost thought Matt here was mad!"

"Well it was a good thing you didn't think I was a lunatic." Matt replied.

"Well, now that we know who's who," Rose said, "I think we should continue with this meeting. Dan what did you want to talk about."

Dan looked at everyone to see that they were all listening then said, "I wanted to talk about Aron. I don't think any of us do, but I don't trust him."

_No surprise there. _Ve thought.

"Yeah, me neither." Matt said, "That guy gave me the creeps."

Everyone agreed as well.

"Also," Dan continued, "I want to know more about this ShadowFlame group before we do anything."

"Yeah me too." Kip said, "but isn't Aron expecting an answer tomorrow?"

"Yes, which is why we need help from two friends of ours that are still in Paradise." Dan replied.

"Who, Umbreon and Espeon?" Wott asked.

"Yes, like I said earlier they were once given the opportunity to join ShadowFlame, but they both declined. I think they know more about ShadowFlame than anyone in Treasure Town." Dan replied.

"Well too bad we can't ask them." Emolga said.

"We can't but, you and Dunsparce can." Dan smiled.

"Wait? Why us?" Emolga asked.

"Well because Aron wants the main members of our team to come and there is no getting around that." Dan said.

"So you want us to go back to Paradise to talk to Umbreon and Espeon?" Dunsparce asked.

"Ah... I wanted to go and explore those ruins." Emolga said disappointed.

"I know you do, but this is really important, after all this is _the _Bittercold." Dan said.

"Don't worry." Said Rose, "There is always next time right? I'm sure there are many ruins out there to explore!"

"Yeah you're both right." Emolga resigned, "We'll head back to Paradise."

Wott patted Emolga on the back, "Hey don't worry we'll bring back a treasure back for you!"

"This is oddly familiar." Emolga sighed.

"Don't worry!" Emolga said, "We'll leave first thing tomorrow."

"Also I think we should merge our four teams together, at least for the time of this job." Dan said.

"I agree." Matt replied, "This will help us with a large group of Pokémon traveling together."

"I also agree." Rose said, "Also those ruins will be extremely large and having a large team will be helpful if one of the smaller groups need help."

"Sure I think we should join together for this mission." Ve said, "After all our team is still small and we're not officially a team yet, we don't even have a name."

"Well do you have one in mind?" asked Kip.

"I was thinking Team Destiny." Said Ve,

"That sounds nice." Said Torch, "Any reason why?"

"Oh just the way our team was formed." Said Ve, "We just happened upon each other by chance except this doesn't seem like chance, it seems like..."

"Destiny." Tom finished for her, "That does seem like a good name."

"I also like it!" Zero said.

"So that's that." Ve happily said, "We'll be known as Team Destiny!"

"Good job Ve." Notch said, "You always wanted to be in an Exploration Team and here you are."

"Thanks Notch!" Said Ve, "I could never do it without Tom here."

"So are we all in agreement?" Dan said, "Should we all join teams?"

The individual teams discussed with themselves and after a minute went by:

"Our team agrees." Rose said.

"We agree as well." Ve said.

"As do we!" Torch said enthusiastically.

"Well then it's decided." Dan said, "Tomorrow we'll let Aron know that we'll accept his job."

That night the newly named Team Hope found a clearing in the nearby woods where they set up camp. Ve was extremely excited still that she was reunited with her brother, Zero was asking her questions about Notch, and Tom was listening in but he was preoccupied.

_In this day alone I've gotten more shards of memories than any other time in the Pokémon world. Mainly about those three Exploration Teams..._

When he went to sleep he had a dream.

He was in a dark room and he was looking for something... no he was looking for _someone_.

Tom then realised that he was dreaming and also realised that he was looking into the dream and wasn't actually part of it.

_Woah! What is happening?_

The person he was looking at appeared like a shadow as if whoever it was didn't want to be seen.

The person then cried out, "Where are you? I need your help!"

Tom was surprised to hear that the person spoke with his voice.

_What is going on? Is this a memory?_

Suddenly several bright lights appeared from out of nowhere and Tom awoke from the dream to realise he was breathing heavily.

He looked around to see that it was still night time and that everyone else was still asleep.

_What was that dream?_

As Tom thought about the dream a Murkrow cawed and flew off, startling Tom.

_Just a nocturnal bird. _Tom thought. He then laid down and went back to sleep.

When Ve woke up she noticed that the two boys were still asleep so she decided to take a short walk down the road.

Autumn was her favorite time of the year. Near her home on Colony Island was a forest filled valley that was the most beautiful sight with it's golden and brown colors. Of course it was a Mystery Dungeon as well so it's beauty was best viewed from a distance.

_Now that I think about it,_ Ve thought, _Colony Island has many Mystery Dungeons on it._

But here, on this island it is much more peaceful and the beauty of nature could be enjoyed.

As she was walking she saw many other teams around campfires that were put out late last night. Some teams were already getting up to prepare for the second day of the festival.

Today was focused on discoveries made by individual teams. Ve was slightly disappointed that she wouldn't be able to see the many amazing things that would be shown today.

But she didn't really mind. She was reunited with her brother and even better, she was going to go on her first true exploration with him.

She had Tom to thank for this, because without him she would never have an Exploration Team and also she couldn't forget Zero who was the reason they were on Guild Island. In fact Zero even agreed that going on this expedition may turn up clues to what happened to Zoroark.

As Ve was walking down the road she noticed that the campsites were becoming less and less frequent so she decided to turn around.

As she was heading back she thought she sensed something behind her. When she turned around she saw that there was nothing behind her.

_Odd. _She thought, _What was that?_

She continued down the road back to her camp.

When she arrived Tom and Zero were up and getting things together and preparing to depart for Treasure Town.

"Hey Ve." Said Zero now disguised as a Shinx, "We were about to go and look for you."

"Hm..." Tom said, "Zero were going to have to find a way to make it easier for us to know it's you when we're in a crowd and you're disguised."

Ve had an idea, "Here look in my bag there is a scarf in there."

Tom looked into the bag and saw the scarf in it it was the color of dark purple.

"Do you like this scarf?" Tom asked Zero.

"Sure that will work." Zero replied.

Tom helped Zero put the scarf on and Zero wanted to test it out.

Making sure that there was no one else around he changed his appearance to look like a Bidoof.

"Perfect." He said. "The scarf wasn't affected at all."

Zero appeared like a Shinx again and carried on with preparing to move out.

Within a few minutes everything was packed and they set out for the Crossroads in front of Wigglytuff's guild where they would meet up with the other three teams.

As they were travelling Ve thought she sensed something behind them, but once again there was nothing behind them.

"Something wrong?" Tom asked.

"I thought something was behind us." Ve said.

"Oh no... not behind you." Someone shouted, "Under you!"

Suddenly a lone Sandslash popped up from underground in front of them.

"Who are you?" Zero asked.

"Oh no one that you would know." The Sandslash said, "All I want is an answer to a question."

"And that would be?" Tom asked.

"Is it or is it not true that that Eevee," He pointed at Ve, "is related to another Eevee by the name of Notch?"

"And why would it be your business?" Ve shouted.

"Oh no reason. Just that I think you should be warned that he isn't a, what would you call... liked Pokémon."

"And that would mean?" Tom asked getting ready for a fight if he had to.

"That would mean that you should watch yourself when you are near him. In fact you should consider not staying near him."

"Apparently the concept of family eludes you." Ve said, "I don't care what you say."

"Very well." The Sandslash began to walk away, "You have been warned."

He then begun to dig underground and then he was gone.

"What was that all about?" Ve asked.

"We'll just have to ask Notch." Tom said.

Team Destiny found the other three teams waiting at the crossroads along with Aron.

"Ah... good to see that you made it." Aron said, "I take that you shall accompany us on our expedition?"

"Yes." Tom said, "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Well then if you are all prepared may you all show me your Wonder Maps?" Aron asked the four teams.

They all pulled out their new Wonder Maps that Wigglytuff gave them.

"Now if you look at your maps you will see a large mountain range in the center of the island. What we are looking for is to the east of these mountains." He then looked at Matt and Torch, "You remember Shaymin village?"

"Of course we do!" Torch said.

"How could we forget the view from the top of that mountain?" Matt said.

"What we are looking for is to the east of that mountain and north of the Foggy Forest." Aron said, "So if we are ready I think we should go now. I wouldn't want to be caught in a blizzard while traversing those mountains."

Dan smiled to himself, _He didn't even care that Emolga and Dunsparce weren't here. I knew he only wanted our main team members._

A little while down the road Ve and Tom caught up to Notch to ask him about their encounter with the Sandslash.

"Hey Notch can we ask you something." Ve asked.

"Anything." Notch replied.

"Earlier today we met a Sandslash who wasn't very friendly." Tom said.

"What did he do?" Notch said.

"He mainly just warned us about you, saying that you are not very liked and stuff like that." Ve said.

Rose who was walking next to them laughed slightly, "The two times we ran into Notch before he joined our team were times when he was in battle with Pokémon who didn't really give off the impression that they liked him."

"Yeah I do get that a bit from certain Pokémon, but the majority of Pokémon I know don't absolutely hate me." Notch said.

"However didn't you say a Sandslash told this to you?" Rose asked.

"Yeah." Tom said.

"Do you think it's the same Sandslash from before?" Rose asked Notch, "What does that guy and his gang want from you anyway?"

"They want some sort of object. They call it an Emotion Scope. Thing is... I've never heard of it until they came asking about it." Notch said, "So they literally want me for no good reason."

"Huh..." Tom said, "I think I've heard of an Emotion Scope before. It's another memory. Ahh!" Tom moaned, "It's so frustrating. I have all these pieces of memories and I still have nothing... solid."

"I wouldn't worry too much." Rose told Tom, "It happened to all of us."

"When exactly did your memory come back fully?" Tom asked.

"It was when I had to return to the human world." Rose replied, "Yeah that was not a good experience, I thought I would never see any of my friends again."

"Do you mind talking about this?" Ve asked.

"Oh, no it's ok." Rose said, "Anyway when I returned to the human world I remembered everything about my life. I had nothing in the human world. No friends, no family, nothing."

"Wow..." Ve said, "I never knew."

"It doesn't matter now." Rose said, "The good thing is that I was able to come back. Thanks to Kip."

Meanwhile at the front of the group...

"So what is Paradise like?" Torch asked Wott.

"It's a great place, I should know, I am one of the Pokémon who built it." Wott said proudly.

"Doesn't that make you a little biased?" Matt asked.

"Well... maybe a little." Wott said.

Wott saw Aron walk beside them and asked,

"Hey Aron I was wanting to ask you if you about the ruins, like who built them."

"I'm sorry I'm not Aron." Zero then changed his disguise to Wott and gave off a little snicker, "I'm actually you!"

"Would you stop that." Aron said, "I can't think when you do that!"

"I think we can all agree." Dan said, "This will be a journey to remember."

_I hope I don't regret saying that. _He thought right after he said that.

End of Chapter 3


	5. Chapter 4 Around the Campfire

Around the Campfire

After a few hours of walking the four Exploration Teams set up camp near the base of the mountain. In the morning they planned to begin going through a nearby mountain pass. However the pass was known to be a mystery dungeon so they decided it would be best to go through it in the day time.

The teams were all near the campfire as the sun begun to go down.

"So?" Aron asked Tom, "You are a human?"

"Yes I am." Tom said, _For the hundredth time, _he thought.

"And you have no memories of being human?" Aron continued.

"None. However I am getting bits and pieces of them." Tom replied.

"Interesting." said Aron, "Did the same thing happen to you three?" He asked Dan, Rose, and Matt.

"Yeah." Matt said, "Memories returned slowly for me too. By the end of my first adventure they had all returned."

"Your first adventure?" Torch asked.

"Ok our first adventure." said Matt.

"What caused them to return?" Tom asked.

"Uh... well you see I kind of cheated with the whole memory thing." Matt replied.

"Why is that?" Rose asked, "My memories returned at the end of mine and Kip's journey."

"Well I had most of my memories before the end of my... our journey. Mainly because I have the Dimensional Scream abillity." Matt said.

"Isn't that when you can see into the past and future?" Wott asked.

"Yes it is." Matt replied.

"Wow." Ve said, "I had no idea there was even such an ability."

"It is an extremely rare gift." Aron said, "I've only know of another Pokémon with an ability like that."

"Really who?" Matt asked.

"Me." Aron replied, "I have the Dimensional Scream as well."

"Really? That's nea-"

"Oh don't get excited." Aron interupted Matt, "I can't use it anymore."

"Why not?" Wott asked.

"In order for one to use this ability I need to be near an object that has to do with the past or future that I see. Matt knows the other requirement."

"You need to be with a trusted partner." Matt responded.

"So you no longer have a trusted friend?" Ve asked.

"That I'm sure you can figure out for yourself." Aron said.

Ve knew he wouldn't respond to anymore questions but she didn't need to ask. She sensed a flicker of feelings of betrayal that then hid themselves quickly.

Rose seemed to catch on to Aron's sadness and changed the subject.

"What do you remember from your old life Matt?"

"What?" said Matt, "Oh, well I mainly remember how dull everything was. The world was so empty in the future. I did my best to bring some sort of happiness to it."

"Do you remember how you met Grovyle?" Zero asked while he was disguised as Torch.

"Yeah I actually do Tor- Zero." Matt quickly corrected, "He had gotten in trouble with a group of Sableye. I distracted them long enough for Grovyle to get away and we eventually met up."

"What happened to Grovyle?" Ve asked. She suddenly sensed a flicker of sadness then uncertainty in Matt.

"When we went to Temporal Tower six months ago we were ambushed. Dusknoir, Primal Dialga's main servant was waiting for us. Grovyle... dragged Dusknoir into a Dimensional Hole and took him back to the future to buy us time."

"Oh..." Said Ve, "I didn't know."

"It's ok." Matt said, "I know he is ok."

"How?" Tom asked.

"Because about a month ago I had a dream. I saw Grovyle and his friend in the future, Celebi. They were happy." Matt said, "However Dusknoir was there too, I thought Grovyle and Dusknoir were bitter enemies but I guess all that changed when Dusknoir saw how beautiful the world could be."

"Well your human life must have been fun." Rose said, "In the human world I had nothing."

"Really?" Matt asked.

"Yeah, no friends or family." Rose said.

"Wow." Notch said, "That's worse than mine and Ve's situation. At least we knew we had family somewhere." Ve smiled.

"All of that changed when I had a dream sent from Gardevoir." Rose continued.

"That is something I wanted to ask you." Aron said, "Where is Gardevoir?"

"I don't know." Rose said, "Gengar and I were able to save her from her curse a few months ago, but she had no memory of anything. I'm more interested in where Gengar is. You can never tell what he's up to."

"So what about you Dan?" Tom asked, "What was your human life like?"

Dan appeared angry for a slight second and then got up and climbed up a nearby tree.

"What's his problem?" Torch asked in an annoyed tone.

"You'll have to excuse him." Wott replied, "He's kind of sensitive when it comes to his human life and well... the last time I talked about his human life he got a little unpleasant."

"Then we won't ask him about it." Torch said, "He doesn't have to get all mad though."

"I wouldn't worry about it." Tom said, "He can think what he wants to think."

Suddenly Tom felt a chill down his back. Then suddenly he could see several Pokémon coming toward them. Well he couldn't actually see them but he could tell that they were coming.

Then suddenly an orb was thrown into the middle of the camp.

"Don't look at it!" Aron yelled.

Right as Tom looked away from it, it seemed to explode and when he looked around the camp he saw that Matt, Ve, Kip, and Rose all seemed to be staring at something Tom couldn't see. They also had terrified looks.

"What was that?" Tom shouted.

"A Foe-Fear Orb." Aron shouted, "We're being attacked!"

Wott, Aron, Tom, Zero, Torch, and Notch immediately got up and prepared for anything.

"Dan we could use your help down here!" Wott shouted.

Dan didn't come down. _Either he saw the Foe-Fear Orb or he wandered off somewhere. _Wott thought, _Why do you have to get your feelings hurt now?_

Suddenly four Buizel came out of the bushes and surrounded them.

"Oh no... not these guys." Notch said.

"That's right!" One of the Buizels said, "The Buizel Brothers back! This time we're actually getting paid to collect our debt!"

"Great. As if I had enough Pokémon after me!" Notch said, "Well I hope you don't mind a repeat of last time."

Aron stepped toward the group of Buizel. "I'll take care of this." He said.

"You sure that's a good idea?" Torch said, "You kind of have a type disadvantage here."

"You think I don't know that?" Aron shouted back.

"You Pokémon talk too much!" The lead Buizel shouted, "Attack!"

One of the Buizel charged at Aron using Aqua Jet and at the last second Aron jumped out of the way.

"Rock Polish!" He shouted and then Aron appeared to shine very brightly.

One of the Buizel used Water Gun, but Aron dodged it even quicker than last time.

"How is he doing that?" Tom asked.

"Rock Polish makes the user faster!" Torch said.

"Shouldn't we help him?" Tom asked.

Aron then used Iron Head on one of the Buizels and he went flying across the campsite.

"Nah." Zero said, "I'm having enough fun just by watching this."

One of the Buizel used Water Gun again and Aron dodged it barely, however the attack kept going and almost hit Torch.

"Can you be a little more careful!" Torch shouted.

"Hey! Who is fighting one to four again?" Aron retorted.

One of the Buizels used Sonicboom and yet again Aron dodged and used Dig to get underground. The attack however kept going and hit the ground near where Rose was standing still petrified.

The explosion knocked Rose toward the ground. This broke her from her petrified state and she quickly surveyed the battle.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Long story short," Notch told her, "They decided to pop up." He then pointed at the Buizel who was thrown across the camp.

"Oh great." Rose replied, "Any reason why they're terrified of the ground?"

Suddenly Aron sprang out of the ground and attacked the leader of the group. He fell back and when he got up he shouted:

"Forget this! It's not worth what we're being paid."

He and two of the other Buizels ran for it. The other Buizel that got thrown to the other side of the camp was scrambling to get out of there.

"No stop him!" Aron shouted.

"I'm on it." Rose shouted, "Grass Knot!"

A small plant grew subtly in front of the Buizel and he tripped and fell flat on the ground.

"Please don't hit me in the face!" The Buizel shouted.

"I just want to know who sent you after us!" Aron shouted.

"It was a Sandslash and a Kabutops, they wanted something from Notch and well he kind of owes us so-"

"I don't owe you anything!" Notch shouted, "And why does that Sandslash insist on making my life miserable?"

"Would you please calm down Notch." Aron said he then moved toward the fallen Buizel who flinched, "Go and tell that Sandslash and Kabutops that Aron wants them to stop harassing Notch!"

"Sure, sure whatever you say!" The Buizel then got up and ran away into the woods.

"You know that Sandslash and Kabutops?" Notch asked.

"If they're who I think they are then yes. I do. They are not pleasant folks to be around with." Aron answered.

"Do you think they'll listen to you?" Torch asked.

"Probably not." Aron said.

"Where's the fire?!" Kip shouted as the Foe-Fear Orb was losing its affect on him. He then used Water Gun directly on Ve who got pushed back by it.

"Was that really necesary?" Ve was completely soaked.

"Er... no, sorry?" Said Kip.

"Now all that's left is to find Dan." Wott said.

A few moments earlier...

Dan had to get away from the camp. Luckily he had an excuse when someone mentioned his past. It was true that Dan didn't like talking about it and had only told Wott so he probably would have reacted the same way if it was under normal circumstances.

However tonight he had somewhere to be. He could see the Pelipper flying toward him and then he landed on a nearby branch.

"Special delivery for Daniel the Snivy." He said.

"That's me." Dan replied.

"Here you are. The delivery was paid for by those who sent it." After the Pelipper handed a package to Dan he flew off.

Dan opened the package to find a Frisim inside with a note that simply said:

_From D and E._

Dan took the Frisim that Dunsparce and Emolga recorded a message on and warmed it up. Like a Frisim always did it thawed and then it began to make the sound of Emolga and Dunsparce's voice.

"We checked with Espeon and Umbreon and it turns out that yes they did actually meet ShadowFlame once!" Dunsparce began.

"However." Emolga added, "They didn't learn much about it all they knew was that they were invited to join it but they decline wo they didn't learn anything else about it. So we're back to square one I guess."

"Also Virizion and Keldeo have not shown up yet." Dunsparce said, "I know it's still a few days before they are supposed to return but we haven't hear a word from them."

"Good luck on your mission." Emolga shouted.

"We'll see you soon." Dunsparce finished.

The Frisim then stopped making noise and all was as silent as before.

_Well I better get back to the camp. _Dan thought disappointedly. _If only we knew a little more about ShadowFlame._

He jumped out of the tree he was in and turned to go the way he came from and saw that the path he took was gone. In fact four new paths had inexplicably appeared out of nowhere.

_Oh no... _Dan thought. _We're in a Mystery Dungeon!_

Dan rushed off trying to find the rest of his team.

"GUYS!" He shouted, "We need to get out of here!"

Out of the nowhere a wild Zangoose sprang at Dan and used Slash attack.

The attack barely missed Dan and he quickly got up and used Vine Whip to grab and throw the Zangoose away.

He heard more wild Pokémon coming towards him and he kept running.

"Everyone! Where are you?" He shouted into the darkness.

"Dan?" He heard someone say, "Is that you?"

Dan recognized the voice as Wott's and ran toward it. He came out into the clearing they were camping at and when he reached his team he was out of breath.

"What's wrong?" Ve asked.

"We're in a Mystery Dungeon!" Dan said, "It's not safe here!"

"What are you talking about?" Aron said, "There isn't a Mystery Dungeon for at least another mile."

Tom remembered the chill he felt right before the Buizel attacked and he somehow knew that that was when the Mystery Dungeon formed around them.

"If we are in a Mystery Dungeon then we should get out of here soon." Notch said.

"That will be difficult to do if we don't know where we are." Said Torch.

"Give me your Wonder Map." He told Kip.

Kip gave him the map and Aron looked at the front.

"Aron? What are you doing?" Tom asked.

Aron then flipped the map over and then everyone saw that the immediate area of the Dungeon was mapped out.

"This map can not only tell you where you are on the island but it can also map out a Mystery Dungeon in it's current state." Aron explained, "Certain Orbs can temporarily make the map more detailed."

"Well that's handy." Kip said, "How does that help us?"

"We know where we have already been." Said Aron.

They then heard the cry of several wild Pokémon in the distance.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Zero said, "Lead the way!"

Using the map they were able to find their way through the Dungeon. However the farther they went the darker it got.

"Hey Notch hand Matt that stick." Torch said.

"Here you go." Notch said as he gave the stick to Matt, "Why do you need a-?"

Before he could finish his sentence Torch used Ember to set the tip of the stick on fire.

"There you go Torch!" Zero said, "Live up to your name!"

"Oh shut up!" Torch replied.

"Wait are we all here?" Aron shouted back to the group. He looked behind him to see that before they could light up the area Ve, Tom, Kip, Rose, and Wott had disappeared.

They're group was now split in half.

"Where did everyone go?" Ve asked.

When everything suddenly went dark Wott pulled out a Luminous Orb and lit it to make a blue light illuminate their path.

"I'm not sure." Kip said, "Should we call for them."

"No of course not." Wott whispered back, "Do you want all the wild Pokémon to know where we are?"

"Well I'm just trying to come up with a plan to get us out of here." Kip retorted back.

"Arguing isn't going to help us." Rose told both of them, "We should just get out of here."

"How do we do that?" Wott asked, "Kip's Wonder Map is with Aron and Dan has ours. Did one of you get one?"

Ve shook her head, "No. Unfortunately not."

Tom however looked behind him. He felt as if the path he was looking at was the right way. It was as if the Mystery Dungeon itself was pulling him in that direction. Wott and Kip were still arguing over what to do.

"Guys!" Tom said, "I think we should go this way."

"Why?" Kip asked.

"I don't know." Tom answered, "It just feels right."

"If we go down that way we could end up horribly lost." Wott said, "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Said Tom, "I am."

"All right." Wott sighed, "We don't have any better ideas. Lead the way."

As they traveled down the path it seemed like they were traveling in one large circle, but Tom knew that they were traveling down the right direction.

After they turned one corner a Scyther lept out and charged straight at the team.

Wott drew his scalchop and a blue light shined from it. "Razor Shell!" He shouted and the light formed a blade. Wott blocked the Scyther's attack and pushed it back.

"Tom which way do we go now?" Wott said while keeping a close eye out for the Scyther that retreated back to the shadows.

Tom focused, "Go left."

The five ran down what felt like a narrow corridor. It seemed to go on forever.

They then found themselves in a new clearing.

Ve felt the presence of a large group of Pokémon coming. However they did not feel like they were wild.

The rest of the team ran into the clearing with Aron leading, Dan right behind him, then Notch, Matt, and two Torchics.

"Do you have to copy me right now Zero?" Torch asked.

"It lightens the mood." Zero snickered and returned to his normal form.

Tom noticed that his stomach had been in a cramp and it had just relaxed. The area around them also got lit up again by the moonlight.

"The Mystery Dungeon must have collapsed on itself." Aron said.

"Wait... Mystery Dungeons can do that?" Ve asked.

"Only if they are artificially created." Aron explained, "Like whenever you use a Magnagate to travel long distances the Dungeon you used disappears."

"So that Dungeon was made by another Pokémon." Dan asked, "I thought artificial Dungeons only form via Magnagates."

"There is a lot we don't know about Mystery Dungeons." Aron told Dan, "Come on let's get out of this forest in case another Dungeon is opened."

"What about the other Pokémon in the Dungeon?" Ve asked.

"If they had any sense then I'm sure they'll be ok."

"I meant the wild Pokémon. What will happen to them."

Aron turned to face Ve, "Why would you be concerned? They have been driven mad in case you haven't notic-"

"So that means we can't care about them!" Ve shouted.

"There is no need to get upset with me." Aron said in a cold voice, "And to satisfy your curiosity, they will most likely find themselves in another Mystery Dungeon where they will continue to harass any travelers who stumble across them."

The clearing was suddenly quiet. Tom looked at Aron and Ve's faces. They were both locked on to the other.

Rose then stepped between the two, "I think we should settle this later. We don't need arguments in between one another, right?"

Kip thought that she was referring not only to this incident but to the argument he had with Wott a few minutes ago.

As they left the forest they saw the extremely large mountains that stood before them. Matt thought about the village of Shaymin he and Torch had visited a few months ago. Dan thought of how the mountains reminded him of the Great Glacier. Rose was admiring the beauty of the grand mountains. Tom however was not thinking about the mountains. He was thinking about the way he could sense the Mystery Dungeon being formed and about how Ve and Aron stared each other down.

While they were all thinking these many different thoughts it began to lightly snow.

End of Chapter 4


	6. Chapter 5 Zero's Nightmare

17

Zero's Nightmare

Over the next day the team had begun climbing the mountain. The weather showed how the season was becoming winter as the temperature had dropped and the snow had gradually picked up.

This didn't deter them from their quest of getting to the ruins that was sheltering the Bittercold and destroying it.

"Show Aron, what are we looking for?" Ve asked.

"We're trying to find a way into a nearby Mystery Dungeon that should take us to the other side of the mountain." Aron replied.

"Is it a cave?" Torch asked, "Because a cave would be better than walking through a full on blizzard."

Tom looked at the area around them and was amazed at how fast the landscape had changed. Just that morning the narrow path they were on was clear and was not much of a hazard.

However now that a blizzard had picked up the path had gotten more treacherous and the snow was falling harshly and the wind was blowing against them.

Rose saw how far up they were and backed away from the edge.

"What's wrong?" Dan asked.

"We are very high up here!" Rose told him.

"You did realize we'd be climbing a mountain right?" Dan told Rose. " And didn't you climb Sky Tower?"

"Yes but I was kind of focused on stopping a giant meteor from destroying the world." Rose replied.

"Well then let's get over this mountain so we can stop an evil crystal that also wants to destroying the world."

"Thanks for the encouragement." Rose said.

Zero had taken the form of a Snover they saw walking alone earlier. When he changed his form the Snover looked back and was confused when she thought he saw an identical copy of herself.

They suddenly came to a fork in the road and Aron looked down the two paths then looked at the map he borrowed from Kip.

"This isn't right." Aron said, "We shouldn't be at a crossroads."

Tom looked down the two crossroads as well. One seemed to lead down the mountain the other seemed to lead upward.

"Shouldn't we go up the mountain?" Tom asked.

"No. We don't know where that path will lead us to." Aron replied, "The paths of this mountain form one big Mystery Dungeon, a more stable one but still you can get easily lost."

Zero then rushed to the front of the group and said in the Snover's voice, "I know this place! Zoroark and I came here once."

"You sure?" Tom asked.

"Yes! There is an Illusion Cavern nearby!" Zero then ran down the path that went downward jumped into the year and turned into his normal form.

"Zero wait up!" Dan shouted and he began to chase after Zero.

"Yeah Zero wait for us!" Ve shouted back.

They chased after Zero who seemed determined to get somewhere.

Then Tom had an odd feeling again. He had the feeling that he had to look up and when he did he saw a large boulder coming loose from the blizzard and was about to fall.

At the exact same moment Tom saw this, Matt's Dimensional Scream tore an image across time. He saw a large boulder fall straight toward him and before he could react to this Tom pushed him out of the way just before the boulder crushed him.

Matt got up and looked back at the path.

It was completely destroyed and most of the team were on the other side of what was now a large rockslide. Only he, Tom, Aron, Ve, and Zero were on this side.

Meanwhile on the other side of the rockslide everyone was scrambling to find out what had happened.

"Is everyone ok?" Notch asked.

"Where's Matt?" Torch shouted.

"He's ok." Kip replied, "I saw Tom push him out of the way."

"What do we do now?" Wott asked.

"I've got an idea." Dan said.

On the other side of the rockslide the five Pokémon were seeing what they could do to find a way around.

"It's impossible." Matt said, "We won't be able to get around that."

"Well then how will we tell the others what to do?" Ve asked.

Then out of nowhere a glittering object hit Tom on the head and fell to the ground.

"Ow." Tom exclaimed, "What is that?"

"It's a Frisim." Aron told Tom, "It has something recorded onto it."

Aron warmed up the Frisim with a little difficulty due to how cold the weather was.

"Everyone is ok." Dan's voice said, "Record what you think we should do and throw the Frisim back over."

The Frisim then fell silent and then Aron picked it up and said:

"We are all ok as well. Find a way around the rockslide and meet up with us on the other side."

Aron then handed it to Matt and said, "You throw it. A Piplup can throw better than an Aron."

Matt grabbed the Frisim and threw it back over the slide.

"What now?" Ve asked.

"Follow me!" Zero said, "An Illusion Cavern is nearby."

"A what?" Matt called to Zero.

"You'll see!" Zero called back. He returned to his normal form and ran down the path, his scarf flying in the wind.

They followed Zero a little while down the path and then they came to a stop all of the sudden.

"Zero what are we doing?" Matt asked, "And what is an Illusion Cavern?"

Zero let out a small laugh, "You'll see." Zero then knelt next to the wall of the mountain and said, "_Rellian._"

When Zero said this a cave appeared out of nowhere.

"How did you do that?" Tom asked

"Zorish. An ancient code only Zoroarks and Zoruas are allowed to learn." Zero said, "After you four."

They all entered the giant cave and entered a wide open room. The illusion of a wall reappeared when they all stepped into the cave.

"What is this place?" Ve asked.

"It's an Illusion Cavern." Zero explained, "As you probably don't know Zoroarks and Zoruas are all mostly nomadic. So we created these places where we can share messages via illusions."

"Do you think there is anything here to help us find your mother?" Ve asked. She immediately felt a flicker of hope in Zero.

"Only one way to find out!" Zero said and then he went into the center of the room.

Matt then felt diseay and he knew the Dimensional Scream was about to reveal another vision. He saw a shadow of some sort fly towards Zero and attack him.

Ve felt the presence of the shadow and immediately turned to face it.

Tom not only knew that there was something else in the room but he also knew exactly where it was. He knew it was going to attack Zero and there was only one thing he could do.

All three of them rushed to the center of the room to defend Zero, but then the shadow seemed to pass over all four of them and Matt fell to the ground.

However when he hit the ground he didn't hit the stone of the cave. In fact he fell into a bed of grass and he also noticed that it was no longer winter, but it felt like late summer.

He looked around and saw Ve there as well.

"Ve what happened?" He asked.

"I have no clue." Ve responded, "Where's Tom?"

"Look out below!" Tom then fell out of a nearby tree and fell flat on his stomach, "I'm ok."

"Well that answers that question." Matt said with a sigh, "But wheres..."

Then Zero jumped out of the same tree but instead of falling on his face, like Tom did, he landed perfectly on top of Tom. However he went right through Tom.

"Wah! What's happening!" Tom scrambled up and backed away from Zero, "I didn't know a Zorua could do that!"

Zero didn't respond to this and didn't seem to notice Tom, Matt, or Ve. Instead he ran off into the woods.

"Oh great, there he goes again." Matt said, "Where are we?"

Ve was also thinking the same thing she was also able to sense Zero's presence all around them. This made her think. "Guys, I think we're inside a dream of Zero's."

"What makes you say that?" Matt asked.

"Because I can feel his presence all around us." Ve explained, "That shadow must have done something to us."

"So what do we do?" Matt asked.

"I think we should follow Zero." Tom said.

"Well there isn't anything else we can do." Ve replied.

They then set out to follow Zero.

The blizzard had picked up. Dan had only been in a blizzard this strong once in his life and it was while he was destroying the very enemy they were chasing right now. He wondered if it was a coincidence but decided that that could wait for later. Right now, he and his team had to find shelter of some form.

Torch slipped on a sheet of ice hidden underneath the snow. She slid directly into Rose and knocked them both down.

"Are you both ok?" Kip asked.

"We need to get out of this weather!" Notch yelled toward Dan.

"I kind have noticed." Dan shouted back. _What can we do? _Dan thought _Of course!_

"Wott!" Dan shouted, "Do we have a Luminous orb?"

"Yeah." Wott replied, "But it won't do much good in the snow you know."

"I know throw it over." Dan yelled. Wott then threw the orb over.

"Torch! I want you to attack the orb with Ember!" Dan shouted, "Can you do that?"

"Course I can!" Torch said as she shot up from the ground and got ready to attack.

Dan threw the orb into the sky and Torch quickly used Ember to heat it up.

The orb then exploded in a red light instead of a white light

"Do you think someone saw it?" Torch asked.

Suddenly the blizzard subsided slightly and Dan looked around. Then he saw three Pokémon flying toward them.

_I guess someone saw us. _Torch thought.

The three Pokémon came closer and began to come into view.

"Didn't think I'd see you so soon!" Notch shouted to the newcomers

Torch saw a Staraptor, Swellow, and Pidgeot land near by.

"Enjoying the winter breeze?" Talon asked, "Oh, hey Notch. Saving you again are we?"

"Oh shut up this is only the second time in a week." Notch laughed.

"Yes good to see that you know each other." Torch shouted, "But I'm kind of freezing here."

"Alright, well hop on." Falcon said.

"May the grass and fire types leave first as they have the hardest time in this storm." Said Raptor, "Not that it will be too long."

Torch jumped onto Falcon, Dan got on Talon, and Rose got onto Raptor.

As they began to rise Rose began to shake, and not because of the cold.

"Can you please not fly so fast?" She asked Raptor.

"What's that?" Raptor said as he was picking up speed.

"DON'T GO FAS-!" But Rose lost her breath when she saw how far up she was.

Most Pokémon would have panicked if a shadow flew across four other Pokémon and they all collapsed. However Aron was not most Pokémon. Aron had suspicions over what the shadow was but, it was now gone as quickly as it had came. All Aron could do now was to sit and wait for the others to wake up or for help to arrive.

Aron was surprised when he heard another Pokémon enter the cave but his surprise disappeared when he saw who it was.

"Hello Cobalt." The newcomer said. "How are you today?"

"How did you know we were here?" Aron asked "And when did you learn Zorish?"

"Come now. We both know it is my job to know these kinds of things."

"When you see Dune and Blade tell them I still have a problem with playing with tools they don't know how to use." Said Aron.

"As if _you_ know how to use them."

"We both know no one knows how a Mystery Dungeon works." Aron said.

"Not yet." The visitor said, "So what happened to those four?"

"That is another thing I'm not sure about." Aron replied looking at the four explorers, "I'm coming up with a theory."

"Yes, well have fun with that mystery. Why did you interfere with the four Buizel when they most likely would have been able to capture Notch?"

"Because I wanted to prove a point." Aron answered.

"And that would be?"

"That they are idiots and we should've never hired the buffoons in the first place!" Aron said coldly.

"Anything else?"

"Yes." Aron said, "Notch doesn't have the Emotion Scope."

"Are you sure about this Cobalt?"

Aron looked at the guest, "I'm positive."

"Then who does?"

"You don't know?" Said Aron with a smile, "She is in this very cave."

Ve knew of a saying that applied to her life perfectly.

The saying goes _You can never fully understand another_ _Pokémon until you travel through their own thoughts and dreams._

Ve thought she had already done that several times with almost everyone she met, but now she was experiencing it more than what she ever had.

While they were chasing Zero they came out into a clearing. Zero waited at the treeline in order to take on the illusion of a Rattata then he continued to run across the clearing. They had no idea where they were, but Matt had a feeling they were on Guild Island as they saw a mountain range that looked very similar to the one they were supposed to be at now.

"How much farther is Zero going to run?" Matt said out of breath.

"Oh come on!" Ve shouted back toward Matt, "You are a part of a much more experienced Exploration Team than we are and you can't even keep up with us!"

"Running long distances is not my thing!" Matt yelled back.

Zero immediately stopped and then ducked down so that the tall grass of the clearing would hide him from something.

Tom saw a cave up ahead that was built into a rock pile of some sort. Most likely the leftovers of some long ago rockslide.

Zero slowly got up and began to go toward the cave. Zero was so cautious that when a Staraptor flew overhead it didn't even glance in Zero's direction..

They finally reached the cave in what felt like hours and when they did Zero rushed inside.

"Mother what's wrong?" Zero shouted, "Why was the cave open?"

Tom then realized that they were in a Illusion cave and he then noticed that the layout of the cave was similar to the one they were at before they entered the dream.

A Zoroark then seemed to appear from nothing and came up right next to Zero.

"You have failed." The Zoroark said.

"What?" Zero asked the emotion in his face immediately changed from excitement to confusion.

"I thought you would respect the ancient teachings of our clan, but no. You have disrespected everything we stand for." The Zoroark looked like she would attack at any moment.

"I-I don't underst-stand?" Zero said shakily.

"I leave you here as an outcaste." The Zoroark then jumped out of the cave and with one last look at Zero she said, "Do _not _come looking for me!" She then took off at a rapid speed and disappeared into the trees on the other side of the clearing.

"No!" Zero said and he then ran out of the cave after Zoroark.

"Zero wait!" Ve shouted before she could remember that he couldn't hear her.

Matt, Tom, and Ve ran out of the cave after Zero but then a large wave of energy hit all three of them. Then a colossal shadow dominated the sky.

A cold cruel laughter seemed to come out of the ground itself as Zero continued to run toward Zoroark oblivious to the laughter and the shadow.

"No it can't be!" Matt shouted.

"What is that thing!" Tom asked Matt who had a look of shock and terror.

"Darkrai." Matt answered slowly, "But I thought Palkia finished him."

"You are not the only one to make this mistake." A voice that seemed to come from everywhere said.

Then the shadow's laughter was heard again and Tom's vision then grew blurry.

He felt like he was getting dragged into nothingness by something hundreds of times stronger than he would ever be.

Then everything went black and Tom was falling in an endless chasm.

Ve shot up from the ground almost immediately after she woke up. She also accidently sent a small and green Pokémon flying across the room by doing so.

The Pokémon got up and looked at Ve.

"Are you ok?" It asked.

"Uh... yeah." Ve groaned, "Where are we?"

"You're in Shaymin Village." The small Pokémon said.

"Well thanks for helping us out of that cave." Ve replied

"I love that word." Suddenly several flowers appeared out of the back of this creature.

"Ah! What are you doing?!" Ve was shocked by the flowers.

"I'm a Shaymin!" The Pokémon said somewhat offended, "I like the word 'thank'. It is just so great to hear."

"Uh... ok?" Ve looked around the tent like structure they were in and saw that Matt and Tom were laying down on beds nearby and were beginning to stir.

"You're lucky your friends were able to get our attention. Otherwise you could have gotten trapped in an even bigger blizzard and that would have certainly have been a nightmare to get you out of-"

Ve instantly remembered at the mention of the word nightmare, "Where's Zero!"

"Uh... you mean the Zorua? He's in the house next door. Wait don't go outs-"

Ve had already opened the door and the cold air rushed inside. She quickly stepped out of the small house and began to walk toward the house next door.

They weren't really houses but more like tents made of leaves that were still surprisingly green despite the colder temperatures.

She walked to the house next door. She opened the door and saw Notch, Dan, Wott, Rose, and Kip sitting around a small fire.

"If you think winter is bad here well then, you should see it back in Paradise. It's pretty surprising." Wott had just said when Ve barged in.

"Oh, hey Ve!" Kip said, "Good to see your up!"

"Wait Ve where are you going?" Notch asked.

Ve left immediately as Zero was not in the house or tent or whatever it was. Ve had to make sure he was ok and she also wanted to figure something out.

She walked to the other house that was next to the one she had first come out of and when she opened the door there were more of those Shaymin Pokémon waiting for her.

They were all surrounding a bed where Zero was laying down asleep. He was also thrashing and muttering non stop.

"Dar- He's chasing- Help!"

"No doubt about it." One of the Shaymin said, "He's trapped in a nightmare."

"Can you help him?" Ve said as she ran over to Zero.

"That's what we've been trying to do. But medicine isn't helping."

Ve could feel Zero's fear and uncertainty. She wondered what she could do to help.

Notch then came in, "Is he ok?"

"He's still trapped in the nightmare." The small Pokémon said.

"I've never seen anything like this." Notch told Ve, "What happened?"

"After the avalanche we went into a cave." Ve remembered, "Zero thought it had a message from his mother. While we were in their something attacked us and we then found ourselves in one of Zero's dreams."

"The thing that attacked you. Was it a Pokémon?" Notch asked softly.

"Not sure." Ve tried to remember. What happened in the dream was becoming more and more unclear for her, "I think Matt recognized it."

"Weird." Notch thought, "Are you ok?"

Ve began to cry, "Yeah. Just in his nightmare. We saw something."

"What was it?" Said Notch.

"We saw his mother. She abandoned Zero for some reason."

Notches face turned to shock, "Really?"

"Yes." Ve turned to Notch, "It reminded me of our parents."

"Ve, you know they didn't abandon us."

"I know, that's not it." Ve sighed, "It just feels wrong. Why would she do that?"

"Are you sure that was even real?" Notch looked serious.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that was a dream right? I know of a few Pokémon that can mess with dreams. A Musharna for instance."

Ve took a deep breath, "I hope you're right."

Notch might have said something afterwards but she noticed something. There was another presence in Zero's mind. It was hidden very carefully and when Ve tried to feel its emotions, she felt... joy?

Whatever it was it was glad to be in Zero's dream and causing mayhem. Ve concentrated on this being and suddenly she wasn't in that house anymore and the Shaymin weren't there and Zero and Notch had disappeared as well.

Instead she was surrounded by darkness and a single Pokémon was seen standing in the nothingness.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Ve asked.

The silent figure said nothing.

"Answer me!" Ve yelled.

"You have no idea. Do you?" The figure said.

"No I don't." Ve retorted, "So why don't you tell me."

"You will learn who I am in due time." The figure began to fade, "But I've done all I needed to do. Goodbye Ve. Tell your brother I said hi."

_What? _Ve thought, _How does he know us?_

The figure almost fully disappeared but then he held up his arm and used the move Dark Pulse. Rings of dark energy surged toward Ve but at the last second...

Ve was back in the house with Zero and Notch. Zero jumped awake and was immediately alert.

"Where is he!?" He said looking back and forth between everyone their.

"Don't worry." Ve spoke quietly, "It's gone now."

Zero was breathing heavily and was shaking violently.

The second Tom woke up he looked to his left and saw Matt sitting up and holding his head in his arms, or wings, Tom didn't know what a Piplup would consider those. He looked to his left and saw that Ve had already gotten up and was gone.

He sat up and then immediately laid back down as a migraine rang through his head. Two words appeared in his mind, 'Dire' and 'Vein'.

_What could these words mean? _He thought. The headache then subsided and he tried to get up again.

"You ok?" Tom asked Matt.

"Yeah." Matt replied, "I had the worst dream."

"I'm not sure that was a dream."

Tom was startled when he realized that Aron was in the room.

"Aron. What happened?" Tom asked.

"Well when we were in that cave a shadow came and attacked you four. You all then fell to the ground and were stuck in a deep sleep. After you fell asleep the shadow left and I was practically by myself. Luckily someone was passing by outside and I was able to flag them down for help."

"Where's Ve and Zero?" Tom inquired.

"Yeah and what happened to the others?" Matt added.

"The others were able to find their own way here and are perfectly ok. Ve has already woken up and Zero from the last I heard was still asleep."

"Where is Zero?"

"Next door I believe."

Tom went to the door and opened it. The blizzard had calmed down and everything seemed peaceful for the most part.

Before Tom could get to the door of the house next door it was blown off by an explosion and Ve ran out from it.

Tom ran over quickly, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah. Check if everyone else is. I'll get help."

Ve then ran off but right before Tom went to the house he noticed something. Ve was wearing a dark purple scarf.

Tom turned to see that Ve wasn't running to another house for help but instead was running out of the village.

The real Ve then ran out of the wreck that was a house and shouted, "We're all ok. That's not me. That's Zero!"

Tom immediately ran after Zero. He didn't know why Zero was running but he had to stop him. Otherwise he would get stuck in the winding maze of the mountains and Tom really didn't want to get lost again.

He began to catch up with Zero and yelled, "Zero stop! What are you doing?"

Zero turned and began to run toward Tom. He then jumped up and a red aura surrounded him. When he hit the ground he used Night Daze, a burst of energy exploded around him.

Tom had braced himself for this attack and had held his ground. After the explosion finished he charged Zero and almost caught him but he dodged and took off running.

"Zero stop before _I _have to stop you."

But Zero kept running. Tom saw no other option.

"Thunder Wave!" A jolt of lightning shot out and struck Zero. He fell to the ground paralyzed.

For some reason, the two words 'Dire' and 'Vein' went through Tom's mind again.

"Sorry Zero." Tom comforted Zero who was on the cold ground and was sobbing.

A few hours later...

Dan was right again. He wished he never made the remark about this being a journey they'd remember. Yet it now was, but not for the reason he expected nor wanted.

After Zero tried to run away for whatever reason Tom gave chase. When he returned Zero was walking with him. Tom had been trying to reassure Zero who was still torn apart for some reason.

"What do you think happened to Zero in that dream?" Wott asked him.

"I don't think I want to know." Dan replied.

"I think I do." Matt said, "If I'm correct then I know exactly what happened."

Matt thought back to a few months ago. He had begun to see nightmares telling him that he would destroy the world. After he and Torch investigated it turned out that a Darkrai had been causing these nightmares.

They traced that Darkrai back to his hideout and it took Palkia, the legendary Pokémon of space, to bring him down.

Right before they defeated him Darkrai made him have a dream where Torch betrayed him. But the dream was made so that it looked like the Dimensional Scream tearing an image across time. Afterwards Matt had freaked out. Matt had his suspicions when he saw that shadow in the dream, but after seeing Zero try to run he was sure of it.

"A Darkrai caused this." Said Matt.

"Oh great another Pokémon that can enter one's dreams." Dan thought aloud.

"What's that?" Matt asked.

Wott sighed, "It's a long story."

Tom and Zero had went inside one of the houses where Ve was also at.

"You ok?" She asked.

"Better." Zero responded in a whisper.

Tom was still surprised that it only took one nightmare to change Zero, who was just hours ago running around as the most excited Pokémon in the world, into this Pokémon who could barely speak.

"Did that really happen?" Ve asked, "Were you really made an outcaste?"

"Yes." Zero replied, "I was afraid to tell you because I thought you wouldn't help me."

"You were concerned about us not helping you." Ve smiled, "But not about us telling everyone you are a Zorua."

Zero laughed slightly at this. And Tom felt better as well. Ve had a very special way with others.

"I don't believe it though." Zero eventually said.

"What don't you believe?" Tom asked.

"What happened. I don't believe Zoroark was being truthful."

"Why not?" Said Ve.

"Because, in the few days before that happened she was acting weird." Zero stopped crying, "I never felt this way about it before. I always had some hope that I'd find the truth, but in that nightmare. Everything was different."

"Well it's over now." Said Ve, "Do you still want to come with us."

Zero got up and was the same Zero that they all knew, "Of course I do. After all if I wasn't here..." Zero took the illusion of Torch, "Who else would bother Torch?"

This got a laugh out of everyone.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Everyone was now talking about what had happened to them.

Tom, Zero, Matt, Ve, and Aron were all able to hear how they could make it to Shaymin Village. After they had Torch set a Luminous orb on fire the Shaymin were able to use Sunny Day to make the blizzard die down for a few minutes in order to let Team Airborne fly over to help them.

They were glad that they were able to help but they had to leave because of matters elsewhere.

"Don't worry." Talon told the team, "I'm sure with Notch on your team will have to come and get you all out of trouble."

"Oh go pick on someone else." Notch laughed, "I know this group of Buizel who hate me."

Team Airborne took off and flew west back toward Treasure Town.

"Well now what?" Kip asked turning toward Aron.

"Now we rest." Aron turned toward one of the houses the Shaymin let them stay in, "I'm sure today was one crazy day for all of you."

As they were walking back to the house that Team LeafWave and Team Paradise were sharing Dan laughed to himself.

"What is it?" Rose turned toward Dan.

"Nothing just, I thought I heard you scream when Raptor took off."

"No I don't scream when I see a height I lose my breath."

"I don't know." Kip said as he was passing by, "You sure did scream when we were almost blasted by Rayquaza."

"Kip you're supposed to be on my side!"

"Don't worry. If you find yourself stuck on a cliff I'll be there to help." Kip then dodged a Razor Leaf attack that was launched by Rose.

"You people are crazy." Notch told his team, "Why did I join up with you?"

"Because you can't keep out of trouble." Said Wott.

"Why does everyone think that?" Notch semi yelled, "That is not always true."

"It was when you came to Paradise." Wott added, "Weren't you hiding out from a group of Magmar."

"Ok, so I'm unlucky. And you wonder why I travelled alone." _Hopefully that can change now. _Notch thought, _Now that I've found my sister._

Team Paradise and Team Hope were already in the house they were using.

"So Zero, I've been meaning to ask you this." Torch was actually curious to how he'd reply, "What is it with you mimicking me."

"Ah you know." Zero said as he was disguised as Torch, "You can never go without enough humor."

"So... why me?"

"Wynaut!" A Pokémon said outside.

"What he said." Zero said looking outside, "Man that was convenient."

Tom was glad that Zero had returned to his normal mood.

"Yes, quite." Torch looked outside trying to find where the Wynaut came from.

"So what are you guys going to do after this adventure of ours?" Matt asked Team Destiny.

"Not sure." Ve thought, "Maybe will go back to Colony Island, but I want to catch up with my brother."

"I'd like to figure out who I am." Tom thought back to the words "Dire" and 'Vein', "I might be onto something."

"The truth about my mother." Zero added, "That's another thing we won't forget."

"Of course not." Matt laughed, "Doesn't this remind you of when I came here Torch?"

"And how we almost got killed in the future?"

"Well, discounting that part." Matt laughed, "It's funny now that it's over."

Torch sighed, "And thank Arceus for that."

"Hey!" Zero said sternly all of a sudden, "Try and not throw that name around, huh?"

"What?" Tom asked, "Who's Arceus?"

"The creator of everything." Ve explained, "Very old myth about him creating the world and everything in it."

"Do you believe it?" Tom asked.

"Sometimes, but I don't get how one being could make... everything?" Ve replied.

"That's because he had help." Matt added, "Dialga and Palkia remember, then theres the lake guardians."

"Man I don't know anything." Tom said pondering the idea of an all powerful Pokémon.

Afterward they went to sleep. And thus concluded their first real adventure on this quest.

End of Chapter 5

**Author's note**

Wow. Just Wow, with a capital W.

When I started this Fanfiction I never anticipated that it would get this much support in the first few months. In fact I anticipated it to get negative reviews. Well that's the awesomeness of the internet for you. :D

So now that we find ourselves halfway through part 1 I think I should say thank you to the first followers I've gotten. Also thanks to the people who don't have a Fanfiction account that come on as well.

Now a few special thank yous:

1) Thanks 100-Percent-Empoleon, you alone have the right to shout FIRST! Thanks for being my first follower.

2) Lectro Underground: You may have been second to follow, but your feedback was still helpful. Hope you keep enjoying the story.

3) SnivyPro18: Thanks for letting me into your community.(You're much more friendlier than Dan. XD) Hope the members there like this.

4) My friends and family: You guys were the first to read this and you convinced me to put this story on .

5) HappyDragonite, GlitchCity, Electric Mudkip, and LugiaDialga: Even though I never met you guys your music inspired me while I was writing. (You guys should check them out on YouTube!)

6) Nintendo and Gamefreak: They made these amazing games! Why would you forget about these guys!

7) Finally thank you to all of those who read the story. I keep writing this for you guys!

It's kind of funny that this chapter has Shaymin, the gratitude Pokémon, and I'm thanking all of you guys, during the week of Thanksgiving (If you're in the U.S.)

Before I forget there is a poll I made just for fun to see who your favorite character is. If you could I would love for you to take it.

Happy Exploring! :D

Your faithful Author:

lostfan10000


	7. Chapter 6 Unresolved Conflicts

Chapter 6

Unresolved Conflicts

The rest of the journey through the mountains was a cake walk. At least when compared to the beginning. To Aron's disappointment they never could find the cave he was looking for. So they had to go over the mountain.

Shortly after the journey began Matt asked how long Aron expected to take on this adventure.

"No longer than a week." Aron replied.

_Well that was four days ago. _Matt thought as they were walking down the deserted road, _Unless these ruins of yours are right in front of us we won't be back for another week. Chatot will love this._

"So what do you plan on doing after this adventure of ours?" Notch asked Ve.

"Not sure." Ve replied. "I don't know if we'll go back to Colony Island because we don't really have anything there."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. It is one of the last unexplored place of the world, well besides whatever is beyond the oceans."

"I have a question that's been bothering me." Tom told Notch. "Do you know why Colony Island has so many Mystery Dungeons?"

"No one really knows but there are several theories." Notch said. "I like the one called the Insufficient Population Theory."

"Never heard of it." Ve said curiously.

"Really?" Said Notch. "It's a very old theory, from the very first Dungeon Researchers."

"Sounds interesting." Wott added. "I bet Espeon and Umbreon have heard of this."

"So what is it?" Ve asked.

"Well as the name says, the theory is that if a location is untouched by Pokémon that aren't wild then Mystery Dungeons will thrive in that area. Since Colony Island was discovered about... a year ago it's just filled with them."

"That kind of makes sense when you think about it." Wott explained. "Like Mystery Dungeons on Paradise don't appear much anymore in the center of it. That's actually pretty fast considering Paradise was made at the beginning of last summer."

While they were discussing this it was Matt's turn to get questioned by Dan. He did not enjoy this.

"So the Darkrai you encountered, you defeated it?"

"Yes." Matt repeated. "And no, in the next five minutes when you ask me that, the answer will not change."

"I just don't like this." Dan thought aloud.

"What do you have a phobia of Pokémon that get into dreams?" Matt laughed. "Never go near a Hypno."

"That's not it." Dan snapped. "It's just something isn't right."

"Come on, how do you know that Darkrai wasn't scared of us?"

"He's right." Torch interjected. "Darkrai don't come into the open and attack like that unless threatened."

"Besides the Darkrai we met has no memory." Matt added.

"You lost your memory the same way right?" Dan asked.

"Yes, but what does that have to do wi-, oh" Matt realized.

"If you got your memory back then he could get his." Dan then tuned and waved his arm in a sarcastic nature. "And no, I'm not afraid of Pokémon who can get into dreams."

"That certainly is debatable." Matt whispered to Torch.

As they continued down the old dirt road they were completely unaware that trouble was brewing elsewhere...

Granbull had gotten used to his new evolution since he well... accidently evolved. He was one of the first Pokémon who had been able to evolve in almost a decade.

At first he thought he had done something wrong but when he learned that he actually evolved he was very pleased with himself. Today he decided he would have a nice walk around Pokémon Square as he had nothing better to do.

As he walked around he saw all the many interesting shops and services his town had. There were the two Kecleon brothers' store, Wigglytuff who was in charge of Friend Zones (and was often mistaken for the Guildmaster Wigglytuff), Pelipper's post office, and Primeape's construction business.

Yes there were many sights to see here. Yet there was one building that wasn't used anymore. Team Leaf Wave's base had been abandoned about four months ago. They had to leave because of constant annoyance with other Pokémon harassing them. Mainly over Rose's unique past.

However their home still stood where it was. The bills were always paid so there was no reason to take it down. (Also the Pokémon of the town really liked that Rescue Team and kept it up just in case.)

As Granbull walked by he paid no attention to it. He probably wouldn't have if it weren't for the reflection of light off something near the door. When Granbull looked he saw that the door was slightly open.

Not knowing what to expect walked over to the door. He opened it slightly and peaked inside. It was very dark so he opened the door a little more.

He then heard something move inside.

"Hey! Who's in there?" He shouted. "Don't you know this is private property?"

Suddenly a Shadow Ball attack flew towards Granbull. The Shadow Ball nearly hit him as Granbull lept to the floor to dodge it. When he looked up he saw two red glowing eyes and a glowing gold ring above them. Whatever it was it surged toward Granbull and then disappeared into the woods.

Granbull looked at the interiour of the house and saw that the place had been torn apart.

A picture of Team LeafWave when they first became a Rescue Team was on the floor. Granbull didn't pay any attention to this. He had already ran off to get help...

About a year ago when Team LeafWave had just had their base created in Pokémon Square. A Porygon came by to create a picture of the new team.

"Boy isn't this exciting." Kip had said. "I'm finally in a rescue team. Thanks Rose."

"You're welcome Kip." Rose replied. "I'm sure will have a large adventure."

"Do you think we'll be any good?" Kip asked.

"I think we both know the answer." Rose said with a smile.

"Yeah! We'll do our best!"

Kip jumped into the air right as the picture was taken. If one looked carefully they would see an Absol in the background. However neither Rose nor Kip nor anyone ever saw this as an Absol only reveals itself near a great tragedy.

"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" Diglett yelled at his post all the way on Guild Island. "The footprint is Sandslash, the footprint is Sandslash!" He followed up.

The gatekeepers Loudred and Diglett were the ones who always made sure they knew what Pokémon the Guild let in. Sure Team Hope tried it once, but that was an utter disaster. Chatot still remembered the complaints he got when Pokémon were mistaken for others. So he did his best to keep those two away from sentry duty.

He saw the Sandslash climb down the ladder and flew over to greet him.

"Greetings on behalf of the Guildmaster." Chatot said in the voice that many found to be more annoying than a Cubchoo with the flu.

"Hello." The Sandslash said. "My name is Dune. I have an important message for a few guild members.

"Are they currently in Treasure Town?" Chatot asked. "If they are then I will be able to deliver it myself."

"Thank you. I'm sure you will be adequate in this task."

Chatot was a little annoyed by this comment but remained calm and asked. "What would the message be?"

Croagunk watched from a distance as the Sandslash whispered something into Chatot's ear.

"Very well. I will give this message whenever I see them. Is there anything else I can do for you?" Chatot hoped the answer was no as he didn't really like this guy.

"No." Dune said to Chatot's delight. "Unless you can direct me to a team of idiotic Buizel."

"Uh..." But before Chatot could finish Dune got up and left .

Chatot turned and saw Croagunk watching him and repeating: "Croa... Croa..."

"What is it Croagunk?" Chatot asked. "Shouldn't you be messing around with that cauldron of yours."

As Croagunk got up and left Chatot thought about that message. It was addressed to Matt and Torch of Team Hope. He still remembered the time when he met those two.

Torch had stepped onto the grate above the sentry post and Diglett immediately alerted the Guild.

"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!"

Torch then panicked and ran at Matt who had jumped over the grate and was about to climb down the ladder.

They both fell down into the meeting room where certified teams took jobs. The Guild was closed that day so only guild members were allowed that day.

"Torch, when someone helps you out with thieves you don't push them down a ladder." Matt had said.

"Sorry." Torch responded. "I didn't expect to raise an alarm."

After that with the help of Guildmaster Wigglytuff they formed Team Hope.

_And those two saved time. _Chatot thought with a sigh.

Espeon and Umbreon were currently enjoying Swana's hospitality as she had started a party to celebrate the first snow storm in Paradise.

Umbreon was still amazed over how much could be accomplished in half a year. Paradise had achieved so much without any snow touching it at all. As long as you don't count the incident with the Bittercold...

Quagsire was also there and was talking with Espeon about times when he was younger.

"Yes I did know the great Wigglytuff when I was hm... a small Wooper. He would always sneak out with this one hm... criminal who taught him everything he knows."

"Fascinating." Espeon remarked. "I didn't know you were from Guild Island."

"That in itself is a funny story, hm..., involving a Psyduck, a boat, and about fifty sacks of hm..."

Before he could finish the doors to the inn blew open and in stepped Keldeo. He walked a few feet then collapsed.

"Keldeo?" Umbreon bounded toward him to see what was wrong. "What happened?"

"Where is Dan and Wott?" Keldeo asked with a look of deadly urgency.

_Ah yes. The great Team Paradise. _Quagsire thought.

Many people didn't know that Paradise almost never happened. Wott was running late and it literally took a Snivy falling from the sky to fix this.

Dan woke up and took stock of his surroundings. He was in the middle of the woods and he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He dreamt about turning into a Snivy and then falling from an incredible height.

"Are you ok?" Someone asked.

He turned and saw an Oshawott running toward him.

"It looked like you fell from the sky."

Dan immediately got up and with wide eyes said. "What is an Oshawott doing talking?"

"Oh well... I knew most Snivy weren't the most pleasant but that was a bit judgemental."

"What are you talking about I'm not a-" Dan had meant to point at the Oshawott but he faltered when he realised his arm was now leaf like and he then ran to a nearby pond and looked in it.

"I've turned into a Snivy!" Dan yelled while the Oshawott tried to hold back a laugh.

Even today Wott finds the whole situation of Dan not knowing what is happening to be one of the greatest things he ever witnessed.

Cobalt was surprised with the amount of delay one incident could make. He wished that the expedition would only take a week. It was crucial to the plan, if the Bittercold wasn't taken care of then everything would be for nothing.

Yet with one unexpected turn of events they were now delayed by an entire day. They would already be in the ruins by now. He could not understand why these things happen. Adventure followed his companions wherever they went and it was unavoidable.

_Just my luck. _Cobalt thought, _The ten Pokémon that I need help from can't walk five steps without causing trouble._

He thought back to a week ago when he was given this assignment.

He, Dune, Blade, and Somber met for the first time after two months of hiding. Everything had gone wrong. They had to resort to plan B.

When they all gathered during the dead of night a swarm of twenty Murkrow began to land around them. They all knew who it was.

"Good to see you too Krow." Cobalt had said.

A large dark bird that appeared to be wearing some sort of hat landed nearby. He looked at the group of Murkrow and Cobalt remembered each one of them shuddering when his red eyes fell upon them. A Honchkrow always kept careful watch over his flock.

"Yes." Krow replied. "It is good to finally see you again."

"Is this all that could make it?" Dune asked.

"Yes." Krow replied. "But we have supporters elsewhere."

"So what is the plan?" Somber asked.

"As we all know ShadowFlame is in ruin." Krow began. "With our leader gone and his _friend's _betrayal we are in a difficult position."

Cobalt sighed, their leader's friend was his as well. A highly trusted friend.

"But all is not lost." Krow continued. "We all remember the Bittercold?"

Krow did not wait for an answer. "Well my sources." He looked at his Murkrow. "Have found a shard of it."

"It's still intact!" Dune shouted. "This is perfect!"

"Yes!" Blade said. "We should move to get it immediately!"

"No." Somber said. "What Krow has forgot to mention is that I already knew of this. I also know that _they _are going to try to acquire it."

"All the more reason to move now!" Blade shouted.

"Calm yourself." Krow laughed. "We will act. But not without help."

"What are you saying?" Dune asked.

"We get help from the ones _they _tricked."

Cobalt immediately understood the plan. "You can't possibly mean-"

"Yes. Team LeafWave, Hope, and Paradise."

"They won't ever help us." Somber said with a chuckle. "Not if they knew who we were."

"Which is exactly why we won't send a Mismagius to do this." Krow replied. "Cobalt? Can you reach the Bittercold."

"Well I guess I'm the best bet."

Cobalt knew they would go to the Explorer's Festival. What he didn't count on was Notch joining up with LeafWave. This did cause confusion but was easily solved.

What was harder to fix was Tom and his Team. If another human was sent to the Pokémon world then they could be in serious trouble. Cobalt just hoped that Tom didn't-

"Hey Aron are you ok?" Tom asked.

"Yes." He replied. "I'm fine."

"How far are we from the ruin?"

"Not too far." Cobalt responded. "I'd say we'll make it before sundown."

"Glad to hear." Tom smiled.

No. Cobalt never expected a fourth human. Though it did help with one thing. They now knew who had the Emotion Scope.

Within a few hours the team had made it to the ruin. There were still a few hours of daylight left so they split up into teams of two in order to find more supplies. Aron kept watch over the campsite while the rest of the team agreed to regroup in two hours.

Ve was paired with Notch.

"So Ve, what exactly have you been up to this entire time?" Notch asked.

"Not much more than I've told you." Ve answered. "After the riot I stayed in a town named Comb Town. Near the market where we were separated."

"I'm sorry it took me so long to find you." Notch said. "Six years."

"Hey everything worked out in the end right?" Ve found it odd that she, the younger sister was comforting her older brother.

"But I wasted so much time. Chasing things that don't exist." They came across a break in the trees and they could see the western shore of the island. "I was a fool."

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

"It was." Notch though aloud. "I was looking for an orb that was supposed to help those cast out of society: The Outcaste Orb. It never existed"

"Hey we all do stupid stuff if we are desperate."

"Yeah, but if I just thought for a second. I would have figured out where you were."

Something fell down behind them from a tree. They both turned expecting to see a wild Pokémon. Instead all that fell was a Wonder Orb.

"Hey. It's a One-Shot Orb." Notch walked over and picked it up.

"Aren't those dangerous?" Ve asked.

"Yeah. So only use it in emergencies." Notch then handed the orb to Ve. "Besides with my luck it would get used on me."

Ve sensed the newly found joy in her brother. "Thanks and by the way Notch. I think your luck is changing."

"Maybe. But I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't."

Tom and Zero didn't have the luck Ve and Notch had. Twice they were ambushed by wild Pokémon packs and both times they barely got away thanks to what Tom was now calling his intuition.

For a third time Tom felt that something was coming and both he and Zero ducked into the bushes to hide from it.

What came was another Exploration Team. Tom and Zero still didn't come out of hiding in case they were bandits.

There were three of them. They couldn't see who they were or what type of Pokémon they were.

"Come on Phoenix!" One of them said. "We don't want to get stuck out here!"

"Easy for you to say this is your element." The Pokémon named Phoenix said. "And where's Os gone off to?"

"Osborne?" The first Pokémon said. "There is no keeping up with that guy."

"Well we better find him."

"Guys, you have bigger problems than me." A third voice said.

Tom turned and got a facefull of water. He was thrown out of the bushes and into the middle of the clearing where the other two Pokémon were.

"So much for hiding." Zero shouted as he lept out to join Tom.

The Pokémon that surprised Tom joined his two companions. All three were Pokémon that Tom had never seen before. One was frog like and blue, another looked like a hedgehog and was green, and finally one was orange colored and looked like a fox.

"So who would you be?" The blue Pokémon shouted. "A few thieves? Out to attack a few helpless Pokémon."

"Uh..." The green Pokémon said. "Were not helpless."

"I know." The blue one that Tom had figured out to be Osborne said. "What if we were though?"

"We don't have time for this." Zero said. He reached into his bag and pulled out an Orb.

"Hey put the Orb down!" Osborne shouted. All three rushed toward Zero.

"If you insist." Zero said. He threw the orb at the three and it shined a bright blue light and the team vanished.

"Good old Escape Orb." Zero chuckled. "Nothing beats it."

"Except for a Warp Orb X." Tom said.

"Do you think I'd waste that here?" Zero responded.

"No, but it does beat it." Tom then noticed something. In the commotion of the battle something had fallen to the ground. Tom walked over and saw that it was another Orb.

"Hey Zero take a look at this."

"What is it?" Zero looked at the Orb then immediately picked it up and threw it to the other side of the clearing. The next thing he did was even more unexpected. He threw his Warp Orb X at it and that warped it away.

"What was that for?" Tom asked shocked at this outburst.

"That is not something we should be messing with."

"Was it worth warping it?" Tom asked again.

"Yes, it was a One Shot Orb." Zero said in a calm way that Tom didn't like. "Can faint most Pokémon with one use. Not pleasent."

"So what were they doing with it?" Tom looked around hoping that team didn't return.

"Who knows?" Zero continued.

_Just another unresolved conflict. _Tom thought. He now had a lot of those in his life.

End of Chapter 6

**Author's Update**

I've returned! Bum Bum BAAAAA!

Ok, so exams are done and I think I've done a good job on those so now I have more time to write! This chapter may seem a little short, especially compared to the colossal one I did last time, but that is only to tide you all over untill I get more written.

I have two weeks off from school and I hope to get everything in part one finished before the end of it. So let's get started!

Also if you have any questions or just want to talk to me in public then check out the forum I've set up for this story.

Link:  myforums/lostfan10000/5289578/

Feel free to check it out. The more people who go to it the more stuff will happen.

And as a great man once said: "Smell ya later!"

-lostfan10000


	8. Chapter 7 The Ruin

**Author's Note**

Another chapter is done! YAY!

So after this chapter I am planning to have two or three more chapters for this part. I'm so glad that it is coming to a good close. Also I don't think I've made this clear but I plan to have five parts for this story. Each part should have about 10 chapters each.

Fun fact: I thought of this fic back in June of this year but didn't begin posting until November. That's how many failed attempts there were. I read what I originally wanted the first chapter to be and it was... not as good as it is now. XD

Anywho... hope you enjoy this chapter.

-lostfan10000

**Edit: **I realized that the transitions between scenes got messed up for the past chapters. Oops? Anyway I've fixed them for this chapter and if I find time I will fix the other chapters. Hopefully this won't happen again. Thanks for barring with me!

The Ruin

Kip and Rose were the last two to return to the camp they had set up just outside the entrance. The sun had already gone down and it was very cold. Kip was glad that he could finally relax near a warm fire. They had not found anything overly spectacular on their scouting mission. A few berries, a Max Elixir, and a few rocks. They did find a TM for Thief. Kip wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to give that to Zero.

"Welcome back!" Torch greeted the two. "Any luck?"

"Not much." Rose answered. "Most of the berries are dead because of the blizzard."

"We did however find something else!" Kip added. "A TM for Thief."

"What TM?" Zero asked.

"This one right here..." Kip tried searching for it in his bag but he found that it wasn't there. When he heard a little chuckle he looked up to see that Zero had the TM balanced on his head.

"This TM?" Zero said. "I don't think I need it."

Kip couldn't help but laugh at this. He never found Zero's jokes to be a bother like Dan did. He thought they made the journey easier for him and the others.

Rose on the other hand wasn't thinking about jokes or pranks. She was looking at the entrance to the ruins. It was a cave entrance that was built into a large hill. In front of the ruins were three obelisks that were arranged in a way that if you connected the dots you'd get a large triangle.

When Rose walked up to one of the pillars she saw pictures of Unown on it. They ran from the top of the pillar to the bottom. Rose didn't know what they said since she couldn't understand the language. The fire that they had made melted the snow covering the ground near the base.

When Rose looked at the base she noticed that the ground near the pillar was paved in stone.

"Torch?" Rose shouted. "Can you come over here?"

"What do you need?" She asked as she ran over from the fire.

"Can you melt all this snow near the entrance?" Rose asked.

"Any reason why?" Torch asked. "Just wondering."

"I'm curious."

"Alright then." Torch used Ember on the ground in front of each pillar. After all the snow melted the entire paved floor was revealed.

"Wow." Torch reacted. "That is impressive."

The rest of the team came over to see what Rose and Torch revealed. The floor had a faded picture painted on it. A large triangle was painted with the three pillars at the points of it. Inside of the triangle was a circle that connected the three midpoints of each line of the triangle.

That was not all. Inside of the circle was a unique and intricate pattern. The same pattern that was on...

"My Relic Fragment." Torch gasped. When Torch was young she somehow received a piece of rock with the very same pattern on it. She carried it wherever she went. She had it on now. Just a few months ago she had discovered its true purpose. This simple trinket was the key into Temporal Tower. The center for all of Time and the home to the legendary Pokémon Dialga.

"What is that doing here?" Matt wondered. "Aron, have any ideas?"

"No." He replied. "I've never seen this pattern before."

Tom was amazed by the pattern. It reminded him of a star. He looked at the rest of the mural that was drawn into the floor. He didn't know how old the painting was but he had the feeling that this painting shouldn't be this clear, especially if it was exposed to open air like this.

Around the triangle were pictures of deep valleys and large mountains. Vast seas and quiet meadows. _Someone got around. _Tom thought.

He also saw a large crack that ran through the pattern .

"Hey Unown runes." Matt said then his tone suddenly seemed sad. "Grovyle knew how to read these."

"Hey don't worry." Torch reminded Matt. "Remember your dream about Grovyle? He's perfectly fine."

"Yeah, still it has been a while."

"Would this be a bad time for me to point out that I know Unown runes?" Torch said.

"What? Since when?" Matt said.

"It was after you-" Torch paused for an instant. "Well, after you left."

"So you can read that?" Dan interrupted.

"Sure I can." Torch looked at the pillar. "It says 'Behold Dialga, Keeper of Time.' Wait a minute."

She then ran over to the second pillar and looked at it.

"Ha!" She laughed. "Ancient Footprint runes. 'Behold Palkia, Guardian of Space.' That brings back a few memories doesn't it Matt?"

"Varis?" Zero said as he observed the third pillar.

"I beg your pardon?" Wott replied.

"This pillar has Zorish on it." Zero answered. "This writing is in Zorish, it says Varis."

The team went to that pillar and Ve saw the symbols Zero was referring to. There didn't appear to be any real pattern to them. They could have been mistaken for scratches on the pillar.

"What does Varis mean?" Notch asked.

"Well in everything that exists there are two forces that influence it." Zero explained.

"Time and Space?" Dan guessed.

"Yes. Well there is a third power" Zero continued. "It holds everything together."

"So it's like a balance?" Rose asked.

"Sure. Except it doesn't behave exactly how you would expect a balance would." Zero then read the caption. "'Fear me, the Lord of Varis.' That makes no sense!"

"Why?" Ve asked.

"Because I've been told several times that Varis is uncontrollable, chaotic, you can't be a lord of it."

Tom wasn't focused on the discussion of Time, Space, and Varis. He was examining the mural. Something was off about it. He walked to the center of it and looked at the Relic Pattern again. He focused hard on the pattern and it was as if he could almost "feel" something about it.

Dan saw Tom focusing hard and walked over to him. "You alright?"

Dan walked into the circle as Tom noticed something in the crack that ran through the pattern. It was an odd gem of some kind. Tom reached for it.

Dan saw this and immediately ran at Tom. "No! Wait!"

The second Tom touched the gem the floor beneath him gave way and he and Dan fell down a deep tunnel. Everything went dark.

Wott had no idea what happened. He heard a loud crack behind him and when he turned the entire circle in the pattern had given way to a large gaping hole. Dan and Tom were no where to be seen.

Aron was the first to look down the hole.

"Ah for Arceus's sake." He said. "They fell into the dungeon. We need to get to them now."

Torch looked down the hole and thought, _What idiot would build that there?_ Then she remembered that the ruins she was at was a Mystery Dungeon. _So a pitfall trap happened to be there? Terrific._

She then turned to join the group.

"No sense waiting for morning." Aron shouted to the group. "We no longer have the time for that."

* * *

Tom woke up at the bottom of the tunnel and when he looked up at the tunnel he fell down he was amazed that he wasn't hurt.

"Hey Tom?" Dan said from the darkness. "I could use some help."

"Where are you?" Tom said.

"In the corner. Follow my voice."

Tom went in the general direction and found Dan. He was on the ground and looked pretty hurt. He was bruised and battered and obviously not as lucky during the fall as Tom.

"You ok?" Tom asked as he looked for something to help Dan. Both of their bags were with either Wott or Ve.

"No. I just fell a long distance. How are you ok?"

Tom didn't answer this. He kept looking for something to help Dan.

It was very dark, Tom couldn't see his hand in front of his face. Yet oddly enough, he could see the entire room. Well it wasn't really _seeing, _he could just tell how the room looked.

Tom now had no clue why he could do this. He didn't worry about that though. He had to help Dan. Tom found his way to a torch that was on the wall.

He used Thundershock on the tip of it and it was lit on fire. Tom was amazed at what he saw. His sense showed him that he was in a large room but it didn't show him what it looked like.

It was beautiful. The room had a marble floor and the walls were expertly carved into many patterns. The place made Tom think of a palace. He remembered what Zero said: Lord of Varis. Was he in the palace of this lord? Who was he? Where did he go?

"Tom. I don't want to be rude but, I am hurt over here."

Tom remembered his task and looked around the room for something. What he found was an Oran Berry. He picked it up and smelled it. Ve had told him that you could tell if an Oran Berry was fresh or not by its smell. This one was fresh.

He bought it over to Dan and gave it to him.

"That should help." He said. "Can you believe this place. It looks like a palace."

Dan ate the berry and then took a closer look at the place.

"At least it's not made of ice."

"What?" Tom asked.

"Nothing." Dan replied. He tried to stand up but quickly fell down groaning from pain. "I may have broken my leg."

A loud howl rang through the dungeon.

"Great." Dan added. "That would be the welcoming party."

Tom braced himself for anything.

* * *

Aron was leading the team through the dungeon, but it might as well have been Wott, Ve and Zero. They were going after their two team members after all.

The Dungeon they were going through was nothing like Wott had ever seen. It had large halls, large statues of many different Pokémon, and rooms that shot off of main hallways in ways that resembled rooms one would live in.

They continued their long search for their lost friends until they came to a locked gate.

"Great, what now?" Kip said.

"We go back." Aron said consulting a Wonder Map. They all turned to see a large wall in their way. The dungeon had changed and now there were only had two rooms that connected to the hall they were in.

They decided to go into one room all together. They couldn't afford to be separated. They searched the room for a way to open the gate. Wott looked at the room. There was a bed, a table, and an empty bookshelf. Except it wasn't empty. There was a single book on the shelf. Wott picked it up and set it on the desk.

He opened it up to the first page. It said, _The Journal of Ember Jaded Flame. _Wott turned the page and began reading:

_Day 1:_

_It's been a week in this new world. I miss my old home, I'm lucky to have met Mark. He and his people have helped me find my place here. It would be nice for me to return home. This place just isn't the same. Well I'll just have to make the most of it._

Wott skipped ahead a few pages and continued reading.

_Day 26_

_The other group of Pokémon from the western side of the island are actually very kind. It's a good thing we figured this out otherwise we would have had a full out war on our hands. I wonder what-_

"Hey Wott! what are you doing?" Torch shouted. "Now isn't the time for literature."

"I found this journal. It's by someone named Ember Jaded Flame." Wott said.

Torch ran over to Wott and read the page. "Why is this in Modern Text? All the other writing outside used old languages."

"Er..." Wott replied. This hadn't occurred to him.

Torch looked at the cover of the book and then looked at the back cover. It had the same pattern from her Relic Fragment and had old Footprint runes on it.

"Of the Hidden Land." Torch translated. "What is that supposed to mean?"

A grinding sound was heard outside and when they looked at what caused it they found that the gate had opened up.

"Hidden Land is the password?" Said Matt. "This is odd."

"And exciting!" Kip said. The journey through this one Dungeon held almost as many mysteries as hif first adventure with Rose.

"Can we go?" Ve asked. "Dan and Tom are in trouble remember."

Wott put the journal in his bag. He wondered if it told what happened here.

As they passed through the gate a chill ran up everyone's back. Aron turned to face the group.

"This is it." He said. "We're near the Bittercold."

* * *

Tom was fighting a Porygon-Z. And was not doing too bad either.

The Porygon-Z launched a Tri Attack at Tom. A triangle made of fire, ice, and electricity barely missed Tom. Tom counterattacked with a Thundershock. He scored a direct hit and the Porygon-Z fell to the ground slightly.

"Get back!" Tom yelled at it.

"Tom be careful it's going to use Conversion!" Dan warned.

The Porygon-Z used Conversion 2 and the entire Pokémon shined brightly for a few seconds.

"What does Conversion do?" Tom asked.

"It makes it resistant to the Type of attack it just took."

"Terrific!" Tom shouted. He used Quick Attack to try and do damage to it. It barely scratched it.

The Porygon-Z then used Psybeam. Tom tried to dodge this but the Porygon-Z anticipated this. The attack hit the ground where Tom was and threw him against the wall.

The Porygon-Z got in position and began charging Hyper Beam. Tom had nowhere to go. Untill:

"Leech Seed!" A small seed hit the Porygon-Z and it sprouted several vines that wrapped themselves around the trapped Pokémon. The Porygon-Z fell to the ground and it appeared to be shocked by a red light. It wasn't electricity though. It was Dan's move leeching the energy out of the wild Pokémon.

"Take that you virus!" Dan said as the drained energy helped him heal from the fall.

"Why didn't you lead with that?" Tom said.

"Wasn't a good time." Dan replied. "When it converted it became Ground Type. Leech Seed would do better then."

"Oh, ok." Tom replied. "So can you walk now?"

The Porygon-Z escaped from the vines and ran off into the darkness.

"No. Leech Seed is good but it can't heal a broken leg."

"So we wait." Tom sat down and hoped the team would get to them soon.

* * *

Ve felt colder here than she did in that blizzard in the mountain. She knew why. She could sense the Bittercold clearer than anyone else and it was terrible. It felt like nothing she had ever sensed before. Other Pokémon always felt real, whole, alive. This felt empty, shattered, and not dead, but not alive. Ve didn't like this feeling

She had heard the stories of how it overwhelmed any Pokémon that was near it. Of how it made it hard to breath and move. Of how it made one forget what hope is. If it was this bad here, she didn't want to know what it was like up close.

But that was inevitable. That was the reason why she had crossed this island. And she wasn't going to let some cold air make her stop now.

Out of the shadows a Porygon-Z charged at them. The team got ready for an attack, but instead of fighting it just ran off down another hallway.

Ve sensed that it was scared of something. Then she heard the echo of a voice:

"Take that you virus!" It said.

"Was that Dan?" Notch said.

"Sure sounded like it." Wott replied.

As the team went in the direction of the voice the Bittercold's power seemed to lessen. Ve thought that she was the most relieved at this but in fact it was Cobalt who was the most relieved.

He thought that he knew what it would feel like. He thought he would be able to withstand its power. But no, it was far more powerful than he thought. It took every bit of strength for him not to break down.

He couldn't just quit now and he couldn't show any sign of weakness. Especially near someone with an Emotion Scope.

They came to a large room and that is where they found Tom and Dan.

"There you guys are!" Tom said. "Glad that you got here. Dan broke his leg in the fall."

Ve looked up and saw how high they had fallen. The ceiling was so high that it was very dark at the top.

"Tom?" Ve asked. "Are you sure _you _are all right?"

"Yeah." Tom replied. "I only had to fight a Porygon-Z, other than that-"

"No, I mean from the fall, that was a long drop."

Tom looked up and for the first time realized how far he'd fallen. He hadn't thought about it that much, he was too busy with the Porygon-Z and helping Dan, but that fall should have hurt him.

"Well Dan." Wott said as he examined Dan's leg. "You definitely broke it."

"Here." Notch said throwing an Escape Orb to Wott. "We don't want Dan getting hurt anymore."

"Wait!" Dan said. "What about the Bittercold?"

"We think we know where it is." Aron replied. "Don't worry, we'll get it."

Dan gave a heavy sigh and then said, "Fine. I'll get out of here."

"We'll see you later." Wott said.

"What you're leaving too?" Ve asked.

"Yeah, someone has to keep Dan safe." Before Dan or anyone else could respond to this Wott activated the Orb and he and Dan were surrounded by a blue light. When the light faded they were gone.

"Well!" Aron said. "Shall we move on?"

The team turned and began to go back the way they came. Back to the Bittercold. Tom for the first time felt its power. He felt cold, but this feeling, it wasn't as strong as everyone made it seem...

* * *

Dan and Wott appeared at the three pillars. The hole that Dan and Tom fell into was now gone and the place looked exactly the way it did when they first arrived.

Wott braced himself. He knew Dan would get mad over not being to get the Bittercold.

"A stupid hole! That's what stopped me!" Dan shouted. "Last time it was a Dragon! Now, only a hole!"

"Wow Dan, way to control your anger." Wott responded. "That isn't really like you."

"I just find this all ridiculous." Dan sat up against one of the pillars. "What's that you're looking at?"

"It's an old journal we found while we were searching for you." Wott turned to the page he was at.

_Day 26_

_The other group of Pokémon from the western side of the island are actually very kind. It's a good thing we figured this out otherwise we would have had a full out war on our hands. I wonder what the future holds for us. Today is the dawn of a new era. Our two nations have come together to form a guild. A guild of Exploration. I don't think there is anything like it. Maybe one day we'll solve this whole Mystery Dungeon mess._

_The leaders of these other Pokémon are actually very nice. Their names are Elana and North. _

The next thing Wott read was totally unexpected.

_I never thought I would meet Ve and Notch's parents._

* * *

The door was massive. On either side was a statue of Dialga and Palkia. Two Pokémon that Matt had met before. Even battled.

"So how do we get in?" Torch asked.

"Check the statues?" Rose suggested.

Matt walked up to the statue of Dialga. The pedestal it was on had no inscription just a mark Matt had seen many times. The picture of a Time Gear. Objects that regulated the flow of Time itself.

Matt touched the statue and got dizzy. His Dimensional Scream was sending him an image.

What he got wasn't an image but instead he heard a voice. A Dimensional Scream could be audio only sometimes.

"The Voices of Life have shown us the way!"

_Who was that? _Matt thought, _What was he talking about?_

"By helping eachother we have defied the legends! Our world is destined for greatness!"

_Well, it doesn't help us open the door, actually it doesn't help us much at all._

"Hidden Land!" Torch shouted at the door. Nothing happened. "No? It was worth a try."

"That's not all you said." Zero pointed out.

"Really?"

"Yeah you said: 'Of the Hidden Land.'" The large door slowly creaked open and a flood of cold air poured out over the team.

The doors opened to reveal a large circular room. It was another room with high ceilings and there was a large dome. It was pitch black except for a blue light that shined from the middle of the room.

It reminded Matt of the light a Time Gear gave off. Except this light was dull and wasn't as inviting as the Time Gear.

"Does anyone know how big the Bittercold got?" Matt asked.

"No, that would be Wott and Dan." Zero replied.

"Let's go." Kip said.

"Wait." Aron stopped him. "You don't know what's in there. I'll go first."

Aron cautiously took a few steps into the large room. He then took out a seed and ate it.

"What was that?" Torch whispered to Matt.

"I think it was an Eyedrop seed." Rose answered for Matt. "He's checking for traps."

"All clear." Aron said. "But be quiet."

Ve didn't even feel like talking. Not only did she feel cold, but she felt as if a large weight was pushing down on her.

They all stepped into the large room and Tom heard a click behind him.

He turned around and saw Notch step onto a Warp Trap. He saw a look of shock on his face as he teleported to a random spot in the Dungeon.

"Are you serious!" Aron almost shouted.

"He couldn't have gone far." Ve said. "Tom and I can look for him. The rest of you can get the Bittercold."

"Why must this be complicated?" Aron said.

"What am I invisible?" Zero asked.

"They need you Zero." Tom told Zero. "Our team is getting small already."

Tom and Ve ran back the way they came.

The rest of the team walked up to the Bittercold.

It was smaller than Matt expected. It was only a bit larger than Torch's Relic Fragment. It was also attached to a string as if it was some sort of necklace.

"We went across the island for this!" Torch shouted. "Did you really need our help?"

"I had no idea how dangerous it would be." Aron replied. "It could have been fully regrown for all I knew."

He picked up the shard of the Bittercold and put the necklace around his neck. He felt cold for a second but the feeling quickly subsided.

"That is strange." Aron said.

"What is it?" Rose asked.

"I-I don't feel anything from the Bittercold."

"Yeah well we still do." Kip said.

"Guys, we have company." Zero said. "And it's huge."

"What?" Aron turned and saw a Metagross blocking their path to the exit.

"What is it doing?" Matt asked.

"It wants the Bittercold." Aron inferred. "It must have been driven mad by it."

The Metagross used Hyper Beam and the attack surged toward them.

Everyone dived out of the way and the attack landed on the other side of the room.

"Oh, he's a tough one." Zero shouted.

The Metagross used Psychic and picked up Torch telekinetically.

"Put me down! Put me down! Put me down!" Torch shouted.

Then a thought went through Torch's mind. _You are making a mistake!_

"Hang on Torch!" Matt shouted.

He jumped at the Metagross and used Drill Peck. The attack made the Pokémon drop Torch. She landed on her feet and turned to face the battle.

"Alright. Time to get some payback!" Torch used Fire Spin and a wall of flame surrounded the Metagross.

Zero used Night Daze and scored a direct hit. But the Metagross was still up! It folded his legs up and began to levitate. It escaped Torch's trap and landed landed in the center of the room.

Rose used Magical Leaf and sent the attack at the Metagross. This seemed to damage but it still did nothing to it's overall strength.

"We may need a better strategy." Zero said.

"You think?" Kip said as he used Water Gun to try and do anything to the colossal enemy.

* * *

Notch was real mad at himself. He had been through so many Dungeons as a lone wolf explorer. This one time he broke his cardinal rule. Never think it's safe.

It was probably because Aron said it was all clear. He let his guard down just as this Dungeon had one last trick to pull.

Well, no use complaining. As he just thought he had gone through many Dungeons alone. This should be no different.

"Hello Notch." Someone said behind him.

Notch turned to see a Mismagius come out of the shadows.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"My name is Somber. I'm sorry about the way I had you come here. I needed to speak with you privately."

"If you have a problem with me get in line." Notch said looking for an exit. "I'm not really like by anyone."

"You misunderstand me." Somber said. "I don't have a problem with you, but an opportunity for you."

"Get in line for that too." Notch replied. "I am with a Rescue Team now."

"But we both know that isn't your style." Sober said. "You never worked well with a team."

"Mainly because my goal was never fame or fortune. I've already achieved my goal."

"Ah your sister." Somber said as if she just realized it. "If you help us it would do her good."

"How?" Notch asked. He didn't like where this was going.

"I'm from ShadowFlame. I believe you've met my colleague Cobalt."

"Aron?"

"Yes. The Aron." Somber replied slightly annoyed. "Anyway, our goal is to make the world a better place. Mainly by removing the Mystery Dungeons. We could use an experienced adventurer such as yourself. ShadowFlame is looking for new members now more than ever."

Notch sighed. "Sorry for this but, no."

"No?"

"No, I wish you luck on your mission but, I can't help you. I have six years of catching up to do with my sister still."

"I see, I see." Somber said as if she expected this. "Good thing... I'm not asking you."

She surged at Notch and then disappeared. Notch fell to the ground with a headache. _What just happened? _He thought.

'Notch! You over here?"

Notch turned to see Ve and Tom come from a long corridor.

"I'm here!" He shouted. Ve ran up and gave Notch a great hug.

"Good." She said. "We were worried about where you were."

"Yeah. I was worried about you." Notch couldn't remember what just happened. "Did you hear someone else with me?"

"No." Tom answered. "Why?"

"I don't really know." Notch replied.

"Then we need to hurry." Ve said. "There's no telling what trouble the rest of the team has gotten into.

* * *

"I don't know how much longer I can hold this!" Kip shouted. He was using Protect as the Metagross was using Gyro Ball to try and breach it.

"Just a little longer!" Rose said. "Hopefully." She added in a whisper.

"Do we all know the plan?" Aron asked once more. The Protect shield shattered.

Zero used his illusionary techniques and made the team invisible for a few precious seconds.

Matt ran as far as he could and hoped the Metagross wouldn't hit him. Aron said that it would be smart enough to guess the location of one of them. And it couldn't be him, Torch, or Rose. That way they could hit it with Whirlpool, Fire Spin, and Grass Knot at the same time. So they had a fifty percent chance of getting this right.

However... Torch ran into someone. She didn't know who she ran into because whoever it was was invisible. But she scrambled to get up and saw that the Metagross must have heard her fall.

It began charging her with Gyro Ball. But, at the last second an Escape Orb landed in its path and a blue light surrounded it. When the light disappeared it was gone.

Torch turned to see where the Orb came from and saw that Tom was the thrower.

"I knew something would go wrong with this plan, so I came up with my own just in case." Zero laughed.

Torch tried to catch her breath as one last odd thought entered her mind. _When you realise your mistake. Come to the Eevee's hometown._

"We're here!" Ve shouted. "What did we miss?"

Rose and Kip exchanged glances and almost laughed.

"Do you still have the Bittercold?" Matt asked.

"I have it right here." Aron showed the shard.

Ve felt terrible near it. She hoped they got out of there soon so she could stop feeling this thing's power.

"Well then let's get out of here before anymore insane Pokémon appear." Matt said.

"Matt, I hate to tell you this." Torch said.

"What?" Matt asked.

"You are an insane Pokémon."

End of Chapter 7


	9. Short 1

**Author's Note:**

So this isn't a chapter or anything but I thought you guys would appreciate something for the New Year. So I decided to do something with Dan, because we all like Dan right?

I might do a few more of these sort stories and they may get their own place if I make a lot of them. A real chapter is coming soon.

Anyway I hope you all enjoy your New Year, and I hope you get to work on your New Year's resolutions. (Mine is to finish this story.) Enjoy!

-lostfan10000

* * *

Many months before the events of Gates To Infinity...

Castelia City was by far the largest in the Unova region. In fact there were not many other cities in the world that could compete with it. This is where you could find Daniel Villus, a young trainer who kept to himself.

He had no real friends, not much money, and he hated his family. Well, it was more like they hated him. So when he was 12 years old he ran away with his only true friend at the time, a Noctowl which he named Nacht. Why? Because Nacht meant night in German so Dan decided it would be a fitting name for his nocturnal friend. That was four years ago.

Dan was not like other trainers either. He didn't focus on battling with others to make his one and only Pokémon better. He viewed battling as a sort of last resort. This was probably because he could talk his way out of most trouble. Not that he had anything wrong with battling. He wasn't one of those Team Plasma fanatics that caused trouble a year ago. If two trainers wanted to battle and if their Pokémon were fit for a fight then let them battle.

Tonight was a special night, for everyone except Dan, tonight was the New Year. Dan couldn't care less for whatever the people celebrated. To him it was just another day on the calendar. Yet tonight Dan was surprised by what came his way.

He was walking in the square as the residents of the city were eagerly watching the clock as it counted down the last few seconds of the year.

"One minute!" The announcer called. The night had many attractions. There were many battles between trainers who came from all over. Even Cynthia, champion of the Sinnoh region, made an appearance that night. She might have said something about Unova being a beautiful region and if she did Dan didn't know why. There wasn't anything special here.

Dan sat down at a bench and thought about what he would need to do soon. He had a few jobs he had to get taken care of. Deliver this, find this, tell someone this. Odd jobs that only he wanted to do.

"THIRTY SECONDS!"

There was a fountain in the middle of the square and on the other side Dan saw something most interesting.

There was a group of three people at the other side of the square. Two were people Dan had never seen before. But the one in the middle. Dan knew perfectly well. Then the third person pointed at Dan and that's when Dan knew. It was time to leave.

"TEN!"

Dan stood up. The first two goons began walking over to his side of the square.

"NINE!"

Dan sent out Nacht. Just in case. The goons got caught in the crowd.

"EIGHT!"

Dan began walking toward one of the four streets of Castelia. This one he knew very well. It was a narrow and small street that no one ever went down. He also knew a few "friends" there.

"SEVEN!"

Dan walked a little faster.

"SIX!"

Faster. The two were desperately trying to get through the crowd.

"FIVE!"

Almost there. The fireworks began to go off.

"FOUR!"

Dan began walking down the street.

"THREE!"

Dan stopped in his tracks.

"TWO!"

The third person had slipped through the crowd and was standing directly in front of Dan.

"ONE!"

Dan got ready for a fight. Nacht sure was.

"ZERO!" The crowd erupted with cheer as fireworks exploded in the sky.

No one would hear a battle take place here over the sound of the fireworks and the crowds cheering.

"Nacht, Confusion!" Dan shouted. A blast of psychic energy knocked the aggressor down.

Dan ran up to him and looked down at the opponent.

_Why hadn't he attacked? _Dan thought. He looked down at his brother, Darius.

He knelt down and asked.

"What are you doing here?"

"What?" His brother asked. "Can't someone say hi to their younger brother anymore?"

"You're not my brother." Dan replied. "Not anymore."

The two goons were coming down the road toward him. Luckily his "friends" had heard the noise and showed up.

Dan nodded his head in the direction and said. "They're causing trouble."

They went off and began distracting the two. Dan recalled Nacht and looked down at his brother one last time.

"Don't follow me again."

Dan took off running. He spent his first few minutes of the New Year running down the Skyarrow bridge. He'd return in a few weeks, when he knew he wouldn't have any unexpected family reunions.

* * *

Several months later...

"I have a simple question Hydreigon."

"How can I help?" Hydreigon replied.

"Why did you choose Daniel Villus to come to the Pokémon world? There were many other options."

"Well... you see, I wasn't really sure. I thought about bringing more than one but... that wouldn't have worked."

"Show you needed help quickly and just chose him randomly?"

"I guess. Why do you need to know?" Hydreigon said. "Is something wrong?"

"No, not yet. I was just wondering. If they came here by chance, or something... more."

"So you're asking whether it was chance or destiny?"

"I guess I am."

"Is there anything else I can help with?"

"No Hydreigon. I think I'm all right now."

_That certainly was interesting._ Hydreigon thought. _Well most Voices of Life are._

Hydreigon left to return to Paradise. He had been gone for a while.

End of Chapter ?


	10. Chapter 8 The Bitter Truth

The Bitter Truth

The Metagross wasn't the only thing they had to worry about. Many other Pokémon could be heard coming to them. Cobalt didn't want anymore distractions. His mission was complete and he had to get out of here.

"Aron what do we do?" Matt asked Aron.

"We go out through that corridor on the other side of the room."

"Wait up a sec." Zero said. "I'm going to try to leave a trap."

"Make it quick!" Aron shouted.

Zero ran to the door they originally came in through. He had never created an illusion this large before. It would probably only last a few minutes but it was worth it.

He took a deep breath and concentrated. Something still had trouble on. He imagined a wall that covered the entire entrance. A crystalline wall that would be hard to break through.

Tom was amazed to see a wall appear out of nowhere. It rose out of the ground and grew as if the air itself was freezing to make it. The wall stopped halfway as Zero lost focus and was breathing heavily.

He caught his breath and looked at his handy work.

"Not bad." He said. "Certainly not good, but not bad."

"Let's go!" Torch shouted from the other side of the room. "I don't want to meet the locals!"

Through the passageway on the other side of the domed room was a large flight of stairs. The team started running up toward a bright light.

"Zero, what if that Metagross entered the Dungeon this way?" Rose asked Zero. "That would mean it's out here right?"

"What Metagross?" Ve asked.

"Uh..." Zero said as he was running up the stairs. "Maybe?"

"No really, what Metagross?"

"No time for that now!" Kip shouted.

The team reached the top of the stairs and they found that they came out of the entrance they first used.

Dan was sitting down next to one of the three pillars and when Wott turned his face lit up and he ran toward Ve.

"Hey! I found something you might be interested in!"

As he was running a Shadow Ball attack hit Wott directly. The explosion threw him to the ground. He got up quickly to see what attacked him.

A Mismagius, Kabutops, and Sandslash had come out of nowhere.

"Hello Cobalt." The Mismagius said. "Haven't seen you since the mountains."

"What are you doing?" Aron asked.

"The head honcho has gotten a bit impatient so, we're killing two birds with one stone here." The Sandslash said.

"We've been sent to extract you and acquire the Emotion Scope." The Kabutops said.

"Would you get off Notch's case!" Ve shouted. "He doesn't have your stupid Emotio-"

Ve stopped talking because Notch started laughing. Ve sensed something terrible. She sensed an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction. _Why would Notch be satisfied with the situation._

"Oh, my dear sister." He said as he walked toward the opposers. "You have been real clever throughout this journey. But, there is something you could never figure out."

"What are you doing?" Aron asked.

"There has been a change of plans Cobalt." Notch said. "Ve, you need to come with us."

Aron walked forward to join the group. Tom had no idea what was happening.

"Notch?" He asked. "What _are _you doing."

Notch gave a terrible smile. "You all were fooled. I work for ShadowFlame. You see, they gave me a simple task. Find my sister and bring her to ShadowFlame and they help erase my problems I've accumulated."

"So." Rose said preparing for a fight. "You thought you could just join our team to take advantage of us."

"Yup." Notch replied. "You really wanted me to. Do you ask every random Pokémon who drags you into a mess to join you?" Notch let out a laugh that scared Ve. It was at that point though that she sensed something odd about Notch.

It was like the time when Zero was trapped in his nightmare. There was someone else in Notch's mind causing havoc. She focused on this being and realized that it was the Mismagius.

"Well, Notch." Torch got ready to attack the traitor. "I hope you're ready for a fight. Cause you're gonna get one."

"It's not Notch." Ve shouted. "Attack the Mismagius!" Ve used Quick Attack and charged the Mismagius. She went right through her.

"Normal can't hit a Ghost my dear." The Mismagius replied. This confirmed Ve's suspicion, Notch had said 'my dear sister' he never spoke like that.

The Kabutops attacked Ve with Slash attack but was intercepted by Wott. He had his Scalchop out and extended to it's sword form.

"Mind if I cut in?" Wott asked.

"That is not even funny!" He yelled back.

"I think it's hilarious." Matt said. He jumped at Kabutops and used Drill Peck. The attack didn't do much but it was enough to distract Kabutops enough for Wott to land a hard hit with Razor Shell

Notch was attacking Tom. Notch used Iron Tail and jumped into the air. Tom jumped to his left as Notch brought the attack down. It hit the mural on the floor and left its own crack in the ground.

Tom wasn't sure if he should attack Notch or not so he used Thunder Wave to try and slow Notch down. The jolt of lightning hit Notch directly but he didn't relent on his attack.

Torch got into position to attack Notch from behind. She got ready to use Ember but then,

"Torch stop!" Ve shouted as she fought Mismagius.

Notch turned to see Torch and he then charged her as he used Double Team. Torch used Ember but hit one of the copies. Notch used Quick Attack and hit Torch square in the face.

The Sandslash used Poison Jab almost hit Torch but she rolled out of the way as the attack hit where she would have been.

Rose used Magical Leaf on Sandslash and while he was being pummeled by sharp leaves Torch slipped out of range of his attacks.

Ve looked at Notch who was still fighting Tom. Zero was disguised as Aron and was harassing the Kabutops who was in a sort of sword duel with Wott. Matt threw Torch an Oran Berry so she could quickly recover. Kip was fighting Aron while Dan was doing his best to help despite his broken leg. Rose and Sandslash were also duking it out. The battle was so far a draw but that could change at any moment.

"The truth hurts doesn't it?" Mismagius said. "That is the world we live in. That is the world we are trying to correct!"

"You're doing a terrible job!" Ve retorted. "You're doing what you say you're against!"

Mismagius didn't appreciate this so she used Psychic and threw Ve against one of the three pillars. Ve fell to the ground and out of her bag rolled out an Orb. Not just any Orb, it was the One Shot Orb Notch had given her. _He said to save it for a bad situation. _Ve thought _This qualifies._

She grabbed the Orb and held it up into the sunlight. A giant shadow like image erupted from the Orb. It reminded Ve of a Zubat but it was much more menacing. The shadow flew at Mismagius and it wrapped itself around her. When the shadow vanished Mismagius fell to the ground, defeated.

Notch lurched and fell to the ground at the same moment Mismagius did. He made no movement.

The words 'Dire' and 'Vein' swam in Tom's vision again and again as he looked at Notch.

"Somber is down! We need to pull back!" Aron shouted.

"Good idea!" Zero yelled back. "Turn tail and get out of here!"

Sandslash burrowed underground. Kabutops jumped into the nearby trees. MIsmagius picked herself up and vanished into the shadows not before giving Ve a scornful look.

Zero charged at Aron and got ready to use Night Daze, but before he could Aron used an Warp Orb to teleport out of the area.

All was quiet. Until Ve got to Notch.

"Notch are you ok?" Ve shouted at Notch. She could sense him barely clinging on to life. What had that Mismagius done?

"Out of my way!" Rose shouted. "I might be able to help."

She got next to Notch and felt his pulse. It was still there. Faint, but there. Rose looked up at the sky. The sun was up high in the sky. Had they been in the Dungeon for that long? It was midnight when they entered.

Rose focused. She used Vine Whip and put each vine on Notch's forehead. She then used Synthesis and channeled the energy of the sun into Notch. Ve felt Notch's strength grow and he began to stabilize.

Notch barely opened his eyes and said in a hushed whisper.

"I let her in... I'm sorry."

"Are you ok now?" Ve asked.

"Yes. I think." Notch replied.

"Well that is good to hear." Someone behind the team said.

Everyone turned to see Metagross observing from a distance. Standing on top of the Metagross was a green, red, and blue Pokémon.

"You three!" Zero shouted. "You three ambushed us!"

"Yes, but you two were hiding in the bushes." The blue one said. "How could we be sure you weren't hooligans?"

"You met these guys before?" Dan asked.

"Just once." Zero replied. "We might have had an argument.

Notch tried to stand up on shaking legs. He looked at the newcomers. "Is that a... Chespin?"

"My name is Elli." The Chespin then gestured to the other two. "The Fenniken is Phoenix and the grumpy Froakie is Osborne."

"We call him Os or Ozzy for short." Phoenix said.

"Glad to meet you without a fight." _I hope, _Tom thought. "What are you doing here?"

"We were here under a special assignment." The Metagross said. "We were supposed to secure the Bittercold."

"The Bittercold!" Matt remembered. "Aron has it!"

"No he doesn't." Metagross said. "It is with the Zorua."

All eyes looked at Zero who had a large mischievous grin.

"Zero?" Wott said. "I'm afraid to ask."

Zero took off his scarf to reveal the necklace the Bittercold was on. "I saw my opportunity and I used Thief."

"Brilliant!" Kip said.

Dan was impressed. He'd never have bet that Zero would save the day.

This small celebration was broken up when Metagross said: "I will need to take that now."

Matt couldn't believe this. "No offense Metagross but, when we first met, you kind of... attacked us."

"I agree." Dan added. "We are not about to just hand it over."

Tom heard something loud behind him and he turned and saw a large flock of birds coming toward them.

"Uh... Metagross." Phoenix said. "We need to go."

"Agreed." Metagross answered. "We will talk later. Just follow Torch's hint when you are ready. You may keep it. As a show of trust." The Metagross and his three companions teleported to who knows where.

Tom noticed the large flock consisted entirely of Murkrow. There must have been about twenty of them. But there was one who was much bigger than the others.

Dan identified him as a Honchkrow. The leader of the flock.

"I am Inspector Krow of the United Federation of Explorers." The Honchkrow began the second he landed. "I want to personally thank you all for ruining years of undercover investigation!"

"What are you talking about?" Dan asked.

"I'm talking about Project ShadowFlame. The criminals you just helped. I could have you all thrown into jail for life!" Some of the Murkrow laughed at this until Krow held up his wing signalling for silence.

"Hey!" Kip started. "We didn't know tha-"

"Spare me your excuses. Do they have the Bittercold?"

"Yes." Zero lied.

Ve sensed annoyance in Krow.

"This complicates matters. I am afraid that I must place you all under arrest until further investigation is complete."

"That won't be necessary." A loud booming voice said.

Matt turned to see Guildmaster Wigglytuff and Chatot coming toward them.

"Guildmaster?" Krow was surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to check on my new friends!" Wigglytuff said cheerfully. "I wanted to show Chatot that there was no reason to worry."

"Except there is now Guildmaster." Chatot said.

"I don't know." Wigglytuff said. "Are you going to put these innocent Pokémon in jail for being at the wrong place at the wrong time?"

"I'd hardly call them innocent, Guildmaster." Krow replied. "It seems very apparent that they all had some hand in what happened here."

"So you'll just lock them up?" Wigglytuff began to tear up. Matt knew what was coming. He exchanged a nervous look with Torch.

"If the investigation shows that they are innocent then it will only be for a few days!"

"But- but..." Wigglytuff appeared to almost start crying. Tom heard a low rumble and wasn't sure what was happening.

"Inspector!" Chatot warned in a panicking tone. "You may want to reconsider!"

Krow knew about Wigglytuff's strenght and was afraid that even with a flock of Murkrow he wouldn't be able to stop him. He took a deep breath.

"All right!" He said calmly despite the situation. "They can leave!"

The rumbling sound immediately stopped and Wigglytuff's mood instantly improved.

"Hooray!" He shouted. "Thank you friendly friend!"

Dan had never seen anything so odd in his life. Except for maybe Quagsire, but this was just ridiculous.

"An investigation will still be made." Krow shouted to his flock. "Let's go!"

He and his flock immediately dispersed and began investigating.

"Guildmaster!" Torch laughed. "I've never been so happy to see you!"

Wigglytuff didn't respond to this. Instead he let out a large snore.

"You're kidding me." Torch's smile faded. "A nap? Now?"

"Yes." Chatot said poking Wigglytuff with his wing. "By the way Torch, I have a message I need to deliver to you and Matt."

"What is it?" Matt joined in the conversation.

"A rather rude Sandslash delivered it. He wanted you to know, 'The Azure clan prepares for war.' Does that mean anything to you."

Wott ran over. "What did the message say?"

"I don't think that is your business. The message was only for-"

"You can tell him." Torch interrupted. "You can trust him."

"Fine. It said 'The Azure clan prepares for war.'"

"Oh no... This is bad." Wott didn't like this. He had to tell Dan as soon as possible.

"Is something wrong?" Chatot inquired.

"Not for you, you don't need to worry."

"Ok." Chatot said. "So what happened here?" He asked Torch and Matt.

"I don't know for sure yet." Matt replied. "But, we did find an unexplored ruin."

"Yeah." Torch added. "You might want to spread the word about that."

"I'll be sure to remember to."

Zero walked up to Tom and Ve. "I think we should leave." He said. "Before something else happens."

"Yeah. That might be a good idea." Ve said while watching the flock of Murkrow.

Rose walked by and quickly whispered. "Meet up at Team Hope's base as soon as you can." She kept walking and picked up Kip's bag that had been dropped in the fight.

Notch was feeling much better. That was not pleasant in the slightest. One second he was arguing with a Mismagius, the next he was fighting his own sister. _My luck isn't ever going to change._ He thought.

And now he'd have to stay away from his sister for a few days in order to avoid suspicion. Nothing was ever simple in his life.

Wott helped Dan get up. This would be fun. Getting a Snivy with a broken leg across an island. In what was now an early winter. Wott hadn't payed attention to it but the area all around them was covered in snow.

"Hey Zero!" Dan called. "Do you have that Warp Orb from when you teleported right next to us?"

"Sure I do." Zero threw it at the two. "Be sure to give it back when we meet up! I only have one of them."

"Thanks!" Wott said. He held it up, thought about Treasure Town, and said. "Uh... Warp Orb X ignite."

The two teleported to the town miles away.

"Well." Tom said. "Shall we go?"

"Yes let's." Ve said.

Ve was dissatisfied. This was her first exploration and what did it give? Only a long list of questions that needed answers. Who made that ruin? What did ShadowFlame want? What was up with that Darkrai?

And where was Zero's mother? They had not found any leads to that. _I guess we have our work cut out for us. _Ve thought.

_At least I got a few things from this journey. _She thought. _I've found my brother. I'm now in an Exploration Team, and I know why I can sense other's feelings. I have an Emotion Scope._

So Team Destiny left the ruin, with the Bittercold in hand. And thus concluded their first adventure.

* * *

It took them a couple of days to return to Treasure Town. The journey back was very uneventful. No ambushes, no surprise Mystery Dungeons, to Tom the journey back was rather dull.

Not that that was a bad thing, Tom had enough adventure for a few days. He needed time to think about his own questions. What did 'Dire' and 'Vein' mean? Who was he in his human life? Why was he here?

The memories that came to him on this journey only made him more confused than the first day when he met Ve.

The Town looked entirely different from when they were first here. It had turned from forests of golden and brown trees to fields of white snow. All of the trees had lost their leaves. It was like going into an entirely different world.

The three came to the crossroads of the town and Zero let out a laugh.

"Remember when we were here the first time?"

"Yeah." Ve replied. "You had us thrown here from Colony Island."

"Good times." Zero said.

The team walked down the main street. All of the shops were still open despite the snow and the Exploration Teams were still out and about.

No one payed Team Destiny any attention. To the rest of the world they were just an Exploration Team of an Eevee and two Pikachus. Zero had disguised himself as Tom on the way in.

The team entered Team Hope's base. They were the last team to arrive. Just like last time. Only this time they actually knew who they were talking to. A small fire was lit in the middle of the base.

"Welcome back you three." Dan said. "Can I be the first to ask, what in the world happened at the ruin?"

"Notch got mind controlled, Aron turned out to be evil, Aron actually has a name! It's Cobalt if you're wondering." Zero listed.

"Do you guys still have the Bittercold?" Dan asked.

Ve took it out of her bag. The temperature instantly dropped when Ve revealed it.

"Good." Kip said. "Could you put it away now?"

"No." Dan said. "Hand it to me."

Ve gave the Bittercold to Dan. He looked at it then threw it into the fire. The fire then turned into a dark black flame.

"Put it out!" Wott shouted. He used Water Pulse on it. Kip used Water Gun.

After the fire was put out the Bittercold Shard was still there.

"What was that for?" Matt asked.

"I thought it would melt." Dan replied. "Sorry for the inconvenience." He picked up the Bittercold and handed it to Ve. She returned it to the bag.

"Guys." Notch said. "Did the flame look like a Shadow?"

"Yeah." Tom answered. "It did."

"Then that answers one thing." Rose said. "ShadowFlame is not what they tell others."

Wott remembered the journal. "Notch, Ve do you know your parents names?"

Notch and Ve looked at each other. "Maybe." Ve answered. "We think their names were Elana and North."

Wott handed the journal to the two. "Read day 26."

Ve and Notch read the entry for that day and looked at Wott.

"Where did you find this?" Notch asked.

"In the ruin." Wott replied.

"How is this possible?" Ve exclaimed. "That ruin was how old?"

"Very." Notch replied. "Does it mention them or us anywhere else?"

"I don't know I've only read a little bit of the journal."

"Weird." Torch thought aloud. "Wott, that message Chatot told us, why is it important."

Wott's eyes opened wide at the mention of the message. He looked at everyone and began.

"That message said that the Azure clan is preparing for war. The Azure clan is a family who is very powerful in a kingdom that's under the Western Sea."

"What so an underwater kingdom?" Torch said. "I've never heard of it."

"It's very isolationist. They only interact with other underwater kingdoms. Long story short they had a war with another kingdom a long time ago."

"How long ago are we talking about?" Kip asked.

"One hundred and fifty years give or take. It was a terrible war. If another one is going to happen then... this could be bad."

"Why does it affect you?" Tom asked.

"Because... I am a member of the Azure family. My name is Oshawott Azure."

"Oh..." Matt realized. "So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to have to go home. Maybe I can do something."

"Wait, so you'll just leave by yourself?" Matt asked.

"How do you know the message was real?" Rose asked. "Wasn't that Sandslash part of ShadowFlame?"

"I don't know, but I wouldn't doubt this." Wott turned to face Matt. "Those kingdoms have been at each other's necks for ever."

"Well, you're not going alone!" Matt stepped toward Wott.

"Are you sure?" Wott looked surprised. "You may be a Water Type, but they still won't like you because you're from the surface."

"Of course I'm sure!" Matt replied. "What kind of a friend would I be to let you walk into a war by yourself."

"In that case I'll come too!' Kip said proudly. "You'll need all the help you can get." Wott didn't bother arguing with either of the two. There minds were made up.

Suddenly another Pokémon ran down the entrance of Team Hope's base. It was Emolga.

"There you guys are! I've been looking all over for you!"

"What is it Emolga?" Dan asked.

"Keldeo came back while you were gone! Virizion is in trouble!" Emolga explained.

Wott looked at Dan.

"Wott, I know what you're thinking. You can go to your family. Besides," Dan gestured at the rest of the team. "I have these guys who can help."

"What about Metagross?" Tom asked.

"He can wait." Dan responded. "This is more important."

"I agree." Ve said. "We'll be happy to help you and your friend!"

"So, Wott, Matt, and Kip are going to war and were going to Paradise?" Torch asked. "Have fun Matt. Wish I could go but..."

"You're a Torch." Zero teased.

"Just don't burn anything down." Matt smiled.

"We'll have to get everything together before we set out." Dan said. "We'll set out in a week."

All four teams agreed.

_No rest for the weary. _Tom thought. Here he was two days off of his first adventure in the Pokémon world and another had already popped up.

All four teams got ready. There was much to do.

End of Part 1

* * *

**Author's Note**

HOOOOORAYYYYYYYY!

Finished part 1! So, remember how I said last chapter that there would be two more chapters? Those two have been combined into one chapter otherwise they'd be pretty short... But part 1 is done!

In case you didn't know part 1 was named "A New A Journey." Part 2 will be named "War of the Sea." I wonder why?

Also I'll be accepting a few character submissions for part 2. Check out my forum for more details. Just paste the link after the main domain of the fanfiction site to get there.

Link: myforums/lostfan10000/5289578/

I can only accept a few so only a few can get in.

PM me if you have any questions!

Anywho... that's about it... oh wait I forgot! You thought I would end without an...

* * *

Epilogue

Metagross teleported Elli and his team a few miles away. A light snow shower was under way.

"Do you think they trust us?" Phoenix asked.

"Doubt it." Osborne said. "They don't really have a good first impression of us."

"I wouldn't worry about it." Elli added. "Right Metagross?"

"I calculate only a 13 percent chance of them immediately responding to our request."

"Where did you get that from?" Elli asked.

"News from other Exploration Teams state that Paradise may be in trouble." Metagross explained. "Also, the Oshawott would want to check on his family before total war breaks out."

"But they'll come, right?" Phoenix asked.

Metagross thought about all four of those teams. The similarities in their adventures was uncanny. Four humans, six Pokémon. Metagross decided that he would have to think about this longer.

"I'm sure that somehow, someway. They will come to us. The fourth story has just begun..."

* * *

And as always thanks for Reading!

-lostfan10000


	11. Part 2 Prologue

Prologue

Two hundred years ago there was a legendary Pokémon by the name of Lugia. Lugia was very powerful. By being in an area he could summon hurricanes and floods that could cause great destruction. Unfortunately, he could not always control his power.

He caused much destruction on the island that is now called Southern Island. His storms froze the North Eastern Mountain that is now called Mt. Freeze. The Mystery Dungeons have made it remain so ever since.

Ninetails, Southern Islands most wisest Pokémon advised Lugia to live under the ocean. So Lugia left for the western seas, however, when he arrived he met Kyogre. She was the Queen of the Sapphire Hall and was considered the highest authority of the ocean. A stunning achievement, as the Ocean was divided into many rivaling kingdoms.

When she first heard Lugia's case she took pity over the Legendary. She asked the many kingdom's which would allow Lugia to live with them.

The Kingdom that responded was the Azure clan. A strong kingdom in the Western Sea that was ruled by the well respected Azure family.

Five decades of peace reigned over the sea. A collection of civilizations that no surface dweller ever knew of. That all changed one fateful year.

Lugia had begun to collect support. Many kingdoms favored him more than the old queen. Most of the western kingdoms joined Lugia's cause. The eastern Kingdoms stayed loyal to Kyogre. All that was needed was a single spark...

Lugia's symbol for power was the Silver Wing. He was told by Ninetails to keep it safe or his world would fall. When Lugia asked for more information Ninetails refused to give any.

Then one day. The Silver Wing was gone.

Lugia was infuriated. His supporters were as well. They claimed the eastern kingdoms stole the Silver Wing. They claimed they did not. War quickly broke out between the western and eastern seas. The spark had ignited the flames of war.

The war lasted eight years. Both kingdoms were demolished. They would have gone on fighting as well. If it weren't for a miracle.

The legendary Pokémon Ho-oh separated the two kingdoms before they annihilated each other. Ho-oh saved these Pokémon. Yet the peace was fragile. Neither kingdom could afford to go to war. So instead they began to rebuild.

In all of the confusion of the war. The Silver Wing was never found. Many believe it to be destroyed. Yet that is far from the truth.

When Ninetails heard of the destruction she made a prophecy.

"Let both kingdoms West and East hear these words! The Silver Wing is still intact. Only an Azure of pure heart will find the lost treasure. And they will do so with the help of the surface."

Not many Pokémon of the two kingdoms heard this prophecy. Those who did thought of it as idiotic.

"How could the surface ever help us?" They asked. The prophecy was quickly disregarded and forgotten. But Ninetails did not forget.

Ninetails never forgets.

Two years before Gates to Infinity

"Hey kid, wake up, we're here."

A young Wott got out of the bed that was loaned to him. He walked out onto the deck of the boat he was riding on.

It was a small boat. It had only one sail. Wott was lucky. Not many Pokémon ever saw a boat, let alone rode one. This would probably be the only time Wott ever would.

Wott looked at the horizon and saw the mountains of Continent Island. There was a small village that they were headed toward. The sun was just about to rise to the east.

The air was a chilly but not unbearable. Especially to Wott. Wott thought of himself to be like the ocean when it came to cold.

When it began to be Winter time there would always be patches of ice in the ocean. And the ocean would get colder, but it would never freeze. This was because of warm water currents and because of ocean movement nonsense that Wott never really bothered to learn.

All that mattered was that the Ocean never freezed and neither would Wott.

"Enjoying the morning?" Someone behind Wott asked.

Wott turned to see an Eevee coming out of the cabin toward him.

"Yeah. Nice night isn't it?" Wott replied.

"A little cold for me, but yeah it is beautiful."

The Eevee came up to Wott and that was when he noticed something very peculiar. The Eevee's right ear had three points on the tip of it.

"My name's Notch." The Eevee said holding out his front paw. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." Wott replied shaking his paw. "I'm Wott."

"So what brings you to this island" Notch asked.

"I don't know yet." Wott replied. "I'll get a job save up some money then maybe buy a piece of land."

"Good luck with that. Especially with Mystery Dungeons all around."

"That's why I want to find a large area." Wott explained. "Because I don't want it just for myself, that would be boring, I want to share it with others. Give those who have no home a place where they can go, you know?"

"Hm." Notch thought about this idea. "That sounds good. If you can pull it off."

Wott laughed. "I don't think that'll be a problem. I just hope I can do it within this year."

"Good luck." Notch said. "If you ever do make this paradise of yours, I'll probably drop by."

Notch began to walk back to the cabin then Wott asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for something I lost four years ago."

Wott didn't want to go further into detail, Notch had answered in a tone that made Wott not want to go deeper than that.

"Good luck with your search." He replied.

Wott looked up at the sky. The stars were now retreating as the day was coming closer.

Two years later...

The night was quiet. Not a single thing was out of place.

A lone Pichu ran through the field. He had to get to the other side without drawing attention.

The grass rustled to his left. He turned to see what it was.

Only a Caterpie. The Pichu dived into the nearby grass and waited for it to pass. He didn't want anything to see him.

The Caterpie continued on its way, oblivious to the pair of eyes that were watching it.

The Pichu got up and at first walked away and then broke out into a run.

He was coming near the end of the clearing. He almost reached the tree line when a large Pokémon came out of the shadows.

It was large and its dark fur allowed it to blend into the shadows. As the Mightyena leapt out so did several others. They circled the Pichu.

"What's this? A rodent has found its way into our territory?" The pack laughed along with their leader.

"This is your only chance!" The Pichu shouted fearlessly. "Let me through and I will not disturb your lands again."

All of the Mightyena laughed at this display of bravery.

"Are you really in a position to make demands?" The leader asked over his laughter. "What secret do you have?"

"Allow me to show you." The Pichu then jumped high into the air. Higher than anything the lead Mightyena ever saw.

A purple light surrounded the Pichu and when he hit the ground he was no longer a Pichu. What landed was a large and fully grown Zoroark.

"What in the name of-" The leader began. But he was cut of by the Zoroark attacking him with Metal Claw.

The leader of the pack was immediately defeated by this attack that came out of nowhere.

The rest of the pack cowered before this new threat.

"As promised you will never see me..." The Zoroark paused as he made the illusion of him disappearing. "Again." He finished invisible.

This made the pack panic as they ran in all directions. The Zoroark smiled as he continued on his way. _It always gets them. _He thought as he continued on his way.

He came to a large tree. He had to be sure he was quiet. This tree had many Kakuna in it. Beedrill were not as easy to scare as Mightyena.

He came to the base of the tree and whispered. "Rellian."

A hole opened up in the ground nearby. The Zoroark ran to the hole and jumped in before it closed itself.

He entered a circular room. As he entered many other Zoroarks and Zoruas appeared from the shadows.

"Endlor!" Someone said. "Good to see you finally!"

This was an odd occurrence. One almost never saw such a large group of Zoroarks.

"Glad to see you all as well." Endlor smiled. "I heard I needed to come right away. What happened?"

"It's Zorin." Someone told Endlor. "We have not heard anything from her or her son."

"When were they last heard from?" A young Zorua asked.

"The last word from them came from around here on Paradise Island."

"So we must look for them!" Endlor said.

"Yes." Many agreed. "We will search the entire island!"

Everyone was given a place to search. The mountains, the desert, even the glaciers to the north.

"Endlor. You will search Paradise and the surrounding area."

"I'll leave immediately." He turned toward the cave entrance. Many wished him luck.

As he left he thought about Zorin and Zero. They were both nice Pokémon, he hoped nothing happened to them.

He didn't have to travel far to find Paradise. The place was built in what used to be a large and desolate valley. Now it had forests, lakes, and grasslands. An impressive accomplishment, especially in the times they were in now.

Endlor entered the valley disguised as a Rattata.

Espeon turned toward the window. She thought something had passed by. Must have been some small Pokémon getting inside before nightfall.

She turned to look at the workshop Gurdurr had built her and her partner Umbreon.

She was a Dungeon Researcher. A scientist dedicated to learning how Mystery Dungeons work. The workshop was filled with many loose papers and objects found in Mystery Dungeons.

On a desk there was a square casing and next to it were several cards with various symbols on them.

The casing was a Magnagate base and the cards were Entrecards. When one used four specific Entrecards a Magnagate would appear. These gates could take someone into a dungeon miles away. It was a form of fast travel, but it was still dangerous. One had to first get through the Dungeon they were in.

Espeon and Umbreon's current task was to find a way to replicate results they got at the Great Glacier a few months back. They successfully found a way to make it where one could bypass the Mystery Dungeon and arrive at their destination.

They were only ever able to do this once. All other attempts since made normal Mystery Dungeons. Or they exploded. Which was never pleasant in the least.

Espeon picked up a few papers and quickly read over them. She then put them up where they belonged.

She looked at Umbreon. He was fast asleep. He had been busy all day. He had to make a Magnagate for Dunsparce and Emolga to go find Dan and Wott he had to help Keldeo, and had to explain to everyone that everything was ok. Something that was hard to do when rumors were spreading like wildfire.

Espeon smiled. He always did his best. Nothing ever distracted him. Of course this did lead to him overworking himself several nights. Like tonight.

Espeon returned to cleaning up the workshop. It was something she was looking for time to be able to.

Might as well get it done now. Before the world goes mad.

**Author's note**

Hello! Welcome to part 2. After today school starts again. Assuming another blizzard doesn't plow through the U.S. again. :D If no blizzard then time between uploads will vary. If blizzard we should all ask Kyurem to stop giving us all of this cold air.

In case you don't know, I am now on deviantART! Part 1 will be posted there over this week. I still use the same username (lostfan10000) and if you don't want to go there the story will still be posted here for you.

If you have a character you want to appear in part 2 be sure to jump over to the forum soon so you can submit your characters! Deadline is January 18.

The rest of part 2 will come soon. Thanks for reading and have a good day!

-lostfan10000


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